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[publications 

OF  THE 

{University  of  (Pennsylvania 


SERIES  IN 


Political  Economy  and  Public  Law 


No.  20. 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN 
WHALE  FISHERY 


Walter  S.  Tower, 

Instructor  in    Geography,  University   of  Pennsylvani 


Published  for  the  University 

PHILADELPHIA 

1907 

THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  CO.,  Selling  Agents 
1006-10  Auh  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa, 


I 

V 


v 


« 


WD 
3\(o3 


PREFACE. 


Whaling  was  once  a  great  industry  in  the  United 
States.  Whole  communities  were  dependent  on  its 
success.  When  voyages  were  successful  there  was 
prosperity  and  plenty.  When  voyages  failed  there  was 
V*  hardship  and  hunger.  Fortunes  were  made  and  lost. 
^v  The  foundation  of  many  a  stately  old  mansion  in  New 
England  rests  on  "oil  and  bone."  But  whaling  was  not 
a  passing  boom,  not  a  thing  apart  from  all  other  interests, 
not  local  in  nature  and  local  in  effect.  Its  influence  as 
a  social  and  economic  factor  was  widespread.  Whaling 
was  a  unit  in  a  great  whole — a  part  of  the  vast  industrial 
interests  of  a  growing  country.  It  is  so  no  longer.  Whal- 
ing is  practically  dead.  The  almost  complete  cycle  of 
^  whaling  activity  is  a  good  lesson  in  economics — the 
lesson  of  a  flourishing  enterprise  quickly  wiped  out  by 
changing  economic  conditions.  The  history  of  whaling 
forms  an  important  chapter  in  the  commercial  history 
\'        of  the  United  States. 

The  history  of  the  American  whale  fishery,  however, 
is  not  an  untried  field.  From  time  to  time  discussions 
of  different  phases  or  periods  in  the  development  of  the 
fishery  have  appeared  in  print.  But  there  seems  still 
to  be  a  field  for  further  work  along  much  the  same  lines. 
On  the  whole  these  previous  works  on  the  whaling 
industry  are  incomplete — incomplete  as  regards  both 
time  and  treatment.  The  most  recent  history  was 
published  in  1876,  but  the  discussion  of  the  years  subse- 
quent to  181 5  is  unfinished.     Furthermore  none  of   the 


i  v  Prejac  e 

authors  have  accorded  whaling  its  proper  significance 
as  a  factor  in  commercial  development.  The  histories 
have  been  chronicles  instead  of  interpretations. 

The  present  history  of  the  American  whale  fishery 
aims  to  give  a  comprehensive  idea  of  its  origin  and 
growth  from  colonial  times  to  the  present,  emphasizing 
the  economic  aspects.  A  chapter  on  the  origin  of 
whaling  in  Europe,  which  may  seem  not  to  belong  here, 
has  been  introduced  at  the  outset  as  a  background  for 
our  own  early  colonial  efforts.  The  subsequent  chapters 
deal  solely  with  the  ups  and  downs  of  the  American 
fishery,  and  they  attempt  to  give  an  intelligent  inter- 
pretation of  the  conditions  inducing  prosperity  or 
depression  in  this  rather  typical  New  England  industry. 
The  chapters  on  the  "Rise  of  Pacific  Whaling,"  the 
"Decline  of  American  Whaling"  and  "Whaling  Products 
in  Commerce,"  will  prove  the  most  interesting  and 
most  valuable  to  the  economist  or  the  student  of  trade 
and  industrial  conditions.  Appendix  I  will  be  found 
to  give  practically  all  of  the  available  statistics  relating 
to  the  whale  fishery  during  the  last  century.  Most  of 
these  tables  have  never  before  appeared  in  print,  being 
compilations  and  combinations  from  a  variety  of  sources. 
Appendix  II  gives  a  rather  full  list  of  references  to  books 
and  articles  about  whaling.  A  critical  analysis  of  the 
most  important  will  be  found  in  the  introductory  chapter. 

Much  valuable  information  and  important  data  have 
been  obtained  from  a  wide  range  of  sources,  to  which 
reference  has  been  made  in  every  case.  I  am  indebted 
to  the  Carnegie  Institution  of  Washington,  D.  C,  for 
aid  received  in  preparing  this  volume.  I  also  owe 
thanks   to   Professor   Emory   R.    Johnson,    of   the   Uni- 


Preface.  v 

versity  of  Pennsylvania,  who  has  kindly  read  the  manu- 
script and  offered  helpful  suggestions  and  criticisms ; 
to  Mr.  George  R.  Phillips,  editor  of  the  "  Whalemen's 
Shipping  List,''  and  especially  to  Mr.  George  H.  Tripp, 
Librarian  of  the  New  Bedford  Public  Library,  and  his 
assistants,  for  their  unfailing  courtesy  and  readiness  to 
aid  in  facilitating  my  work. 

Walter  S.  Tower. 

Philadelphia,  Nov.  i,  1906. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER. 

PAGB 

Original  and  secondary  sources  of  data — William  Scoresby,  "An 
Account  of  the  Arctic  Regions" — Origin  and  development  of 
whaling — Ohed  Macy,  "History  of  Nantucket" — Early  Amer- 
ican whaling — Daniel  Ricketson.  "History  of  New  Bedford" — 
Lorenzo  Sabine.  "Report  on  the  Principal  Fisheries  of  the  Amer- 
can  Seas" — C.  M.  Scammon,  "An  Account  of  the  American 
Whale  Fishery" — Pacific  whaling— Alexander  Starbuck,  "His- 
tory of  the  American  Whale  Fishery" — Colonial  whale  fishery — 
Criticism  of  Starhuck's  history — G.  Browne  Goode.  "Fishing 
Industries  of  the  United  State-"  —"Whalemen's  Shipping  List."       I 

CHAPTER    II. 

THE   ORIGIN    OF   WHALING. 

Early  European  whaling— Kiscay  fishermen — llakluyt's  reference 
to  first  whaling — Norwegian  fishery — Early  references  to 
French  whale  fishery — Danish  record  Beginning  of  English 
whaling  In  the  sixteenth  century — Later  Biscay  fishery — 
End  of  French  Whaling — Rise  of  the  English  industry — Spits- 
bergen fishery —Rivalry  for  whaling  supremacy — Russian  Com- 
pany— Dutch  and  Spanish  competition — Division  of  Spits- 
bergen grounds — Dutch  success — South  Sea  Company — Green- 
land Companj — English  reverses— English  bounties— Dutch 
supremacy —  Decline  of  Dutch  industry — Similarity  in  histories 
of    Dutch.    English    and    American    whaling 8 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  RISE  OF  AMERICAN  WHALING,  FROM  THE  SETTLING 

OF  MASSACIILSKI  IS   TO  THE   WAR   OF   iSu. 

Abundant  supply  of  whales— Colonists'  knowledge  of  whaling — 
Early  records  in  colonial  laws — Ownership  of  drift  whales 
First    whaling    in    Massachusetts— Plymouth    colony — Salem — 


viii  Contents. 

PAGB 

Early  whaling  in  Connecticut — The  Long  Island  fishery — 
Shore  whaling— Boat  whaling — Whaling  from  Martha's  Vine- 
yard— Nantucket  whalers — Condition  of  the  fishery  at  the  end 
of  the  seventeenth  century — Subsequent  develoqment — Rapid 
rise  of  Nantucket — Organization  of  "shore"  whaling — Capture 
of  first  sperm  whale — Deep  sea  whaling  begun — Extension  of 
the  voyages— Nantucket  whaling  before  the  Revolution — The 
Long  Island  fishery  in  the  eighteenth  century — The  Cape  Cod 
industry  after  the  year  1800 — Provincetown  and  Davis  Straits — 
The  fleet  from  Boston — Rhode  Island  whaling  ports  previous 
to  the  Revolution — Other  minor  ports — New  Bedford  whaling 
1 755- 1 775 — Whaling  difficulties — French  and  Spanish  pri- 
vateers—Royal bounty — Embargo  of  1755 — Gulf  of  St.  Law- 
rence and  Belle  Isle  fishing  grounds- — Navigation  laws  of  1757 — 
Importance  of  colonial  whaling  interests — Restrictions  on 
whaling — Prosperity  of  1767-1775 — The  whaling  fleet  in  1774 — 
The  embargo  of  1775— The  Revolutionary  War — Suspension 
of  whaling — Nantucket  crippled — Special  privileges  to  Nan- 
tucket in  1781 — End  of  the  war — Whaling  losses  during  war — 
Revival  of  whaling — Ports  and  fleets — Prices — British  market 
closed — Hopeless  prospect — Massachusetts  bounties — Small 
demand  and  over-production — Depression  in  whaling — Whale- 
men remove  from  Nantucket— French  market  opened — French 
Revolution — Stagnation  again — Ups  and  downs  of  whaling, 
1S00  to  1812 — Embargo  of  1807 — Outbreak  of  hostilities — Con- 
dition of  whaling  in  1S12 — Whaling  suspended  during  the  war.     19 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  GOLDEN  ERA  OF  WHALING  (1815-1860), 

Whaling  from  1X11-1815 — Revival  of  whaling — Nantucket  and  other  _/ 
ports  resume  operations — Successful  voyages,  new  grounds. 
high  prices,  good  markets — Nantucket  in  the  lead — Growth 
from  1820-1835 — Extension  in  the  Pacific — New  ports  engaged — 
fleets  increased — Condition  in  1835 — From  1835-1860 — The 
industry  in  1846 — Prosperity  after  1846 — Causes  of  the  boom  of 
1846 — Distribution  of  the  fleet — Minor  ports  1820-1860 — First 
signs  of  decline — New  Bedford  as  the  center  of  whaling  inter- 
ests— The  New  Bedford  district — Foundation  of  New  Bedford 
prosperity     47 


Contents.  ix 

* 

CHAPTER   V. 

THE  RISE  OF  PACIFIC  WHALING 

PAGE 

First  Pacific  voyages—  Extension  of  Pacific  voyages — First  Arctic- 
whaler — The  first  whaler  from  San  Francisco — Shore  whal- 
ing at  Monterey — The  rise  of  the  San  Francisco  fleet — The 
steam  whaler  introduced — Wintering  in  the  Arctic — San  Fran- 
cisco as  a  rendezvous — Refineries  on  the  Pacific  Coast — San 
Francisco   now   leads — The   Arctic   fishery 5S 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  DECLINE  OF  AMERICAN"   WHALING. 

Statistics  of  whaling  at  its  height — The  decline  after  1857 — Statis- 
tics for  representative  years,  1846  to  1906 — Extent  of  the  de- 
cline— First  ports  to  abandon  the  fishery,  1841-1846 — More 
rapid  decline  from  1848- 1874— Decline  since  1875— Status  of 
the  fishery,  January  1,  1906— Decreasing  prices  of  whale  pro- 
ducts—More valuable  bone — Causes  of  whaling  decline — Un- 
certainty of  the  industry — Longer  and  more  expensive  voy- 
ages—The  California  gold  fever — The  rise  of  the  cotton  mill 
in  New  England — The  discovery  of  petroleum — Whale  pro- 
ducts supplanted  by  petroleum  products — Effects  of  Civil  War — 
Losses  during  the  war — The  disaster  of  [871— Losses  in  the 
Arctic     6° 

CHAPTER    VII, 

APPARATUS      AND      METHOD      OF      CAPTURE;      BOATS; 
CREWS;  WHALE  PRODUCTS  AND  THEIR  USES. 

Primitive  instruments— First  iron  harpoons— The  harpoon,  line 
and  hand  lance — The  harpoon  gun— American  whaling  guns- 
Bomb  lance— The  darting  gun  for  Arctic  whaling— Whaling 
rocket — Other  devices,  nets,  electricity  and  poisoned  harpoons — 
Vessels  used— The  whaleboat— Power  launches— Sloops- 
Schooners—  Ship-,  brigs  and  harks  in  the  Pacific— Arctic  whal- 
ing and  the  introduction  of  steamers — Composition  of  the  pre- 
sent fleet — The  fate  of  whaling  vessels— Crew-  of  whaling 
sels — Indians  in  the  colonial  fishery— Foreigners  in  later  years— 
"Lay"  system  of  wages— Whaling  grounds-  Atlantic  regions— 
Expansion  in  the  Pacific— Grounds  now  frequented—Whale 
products— Sperm- oil  and  its  use-— Whale  oil  and  its  uses- 
Process  of  refining— Spermaceti— Whalebone  and  its  prepara- 
tion—Increasing   value— Uses— Ambergris— In    Morocco 80 


(  'onients. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
WHALE   PRODUCTS  IN  COMMERCE. 


PA(JK 


Meager  records  of  early  colonial  trade — The  Long  Island  industry- 
Boston  and  Connecticut  ports — Whale  oil  the  important  com- 
modity — Trade  to  England  and  the  West  Indies— Beginning 
of  trade  from  Nantucket — Competition  with  the  English  fish- 
try — Prosperity  previous  to  the  Revolution — The  European 
market— Foreign  trade  stopped  hy  the  war — Stimulation  after 
the  war— Depression  due  to  heavy  English  duties — Encourage- 
ment by  bounties  in  Massachusetts — The  commercial  treaty 
with  France  and  the  French  market — Unstable  conditions, 
1790-1812 — The  effect  of  the  War  of  1812 — The  renewal  of 
trade  in  whale  products — Foreign  shipments  increased — Domes- 
tic consumption  more  important — Foreign  trade  during  the 
Golden  Era — The  rapid  decline  of  foreign  shipments  after 
1S65 — Present  condition  of  the  market — Disappearance  of  for- 
eign market  for  oil — Bone  the  mainstay  of  whaling — The  effects 
of   changing   conditions 08 

CHAPTER  IX. 
PRESENT  STATUS  AND  FUTURE  PROSPECTS. 
The  fleet  of  1906 — Comparison  with  previous  years — The  ports 
engaged  in  whaling — Distribution  and  composition  of  the 
fleet — Imports  in  1905  compared  with  previous  years — Prices 
in  1905 — Ports  of  entry  for  whale  products — Whaling  in  the 
future — Dependence  on  bone — Mainly  in  the  Pacific — The  Atlan- 
tic fishery — No  sign  of  revival    112 

APPENDIX  I. 
Statistics  of  whaling — Table  I,  tonnage  of,  and  number  of  vessels 
in,  the  whaling  fleet,  1794  to  1906 — Table  II,  vessels  from  the 
different  ports,  1804-1905 — Table  III,  annual  imports  of  whale 
products — Table  IV,  annual  exports  of  whale  products — Table 
V.  average  prices  of  oil  and  bone — Table  VI,  vessels  and  ton- 
nage of  the  San  Francisco  and  North  Pacific  fleets — Table  VII, 
annual  imports  at  New  Bedford  and  at  San  Francisco — Table 

VIII,  the  Nantucket  fleet  and  annual  imports,  1762-1772 — Table 

IX,  the  Massachusetts  fleet  and  annual  imports,  1771  to  1775 — 
Table  X.  the  Massachusetts  fleet  and  annual  imports,  1787  to 
1789    "7 

APPENDIX  II. 
Bibliography — Standard    references— Minor    references — Periodical 
references :    whale    fishery ;    whales    and    whalers — Occasional 
references     132 


CHAPTER  I. 
Introductory  Chapter. 

Like  many  other  branches  of  industry  in  America,  the 
whale  fishery  has  received  much  attention  in  the  literature 
of  the  country.  Narrative  writing,  histories  of  localities, 
histories  of  the  fisheries,  and  magazine  articles,  have 
found  a  fruitful  theme  in  recounting  one  phase  or 
another  of  this  strange  industry.  But,  strange  as  it  may 
seem,  there  is  practically  no  complete  history  of  the 
whale  fishery  in  existence.  It  seems  appropriate,  there- 
fore, to  introduce  here  a  somewhat  detailed  analysis  or 
critical  survey  of  the  most  important  literature  on  the 
subject. 

In  the  bibliography,  which  appears  as  Appendix  II 
of  this  volume,  a  certain  number  of  works  by  different 
authors  are  classed  as  standard  references;  that  is,  the 
principal  books  dealing  with  the  subject  of  the  whale 
fishery.  To  discuss  the  different  works  in  chronological 
order  will  be  simplest. 

The  first  important  work  to  be  noted  is  that  by  William 
Scoresby,  entitled  "An  Account  of  the  Arctic  Regions," 
dated  1820.  Scoresby  was  an  English  naval  officer, 
and  in  his  discussion  of  the  whale  fishery  he  deals 
solely  with  the  European,  and  principally  the  British, 
industries.  By  far  the  most  valuable  part  of  this  history 
is  the  complete  and  detailed  treatment  of  the  origin  and 
early  development  of  whaling.  Scoresby  seems  to  have 
covered  the  original  sources  with  a  great  deal  of  exactness 


2  A  History  of  the  American  Wliale  Fishery. 

and  in  most  cases  he  cites  the  authority  for,  or  the 
source  of,  his  facts.  So  far  as  could  be  determined 
Scoresby  furnishes  the  only  available  English  account  of 
this  phase  of  whaling.  From  him  has  been  drawn  almost 
all  of  the  first  chapter  in  the  following  history.  Several 
American  writers  have  touched  upon  the  same  phase 
of  whaling  history,  but,  one  and  all,  they  have  drawn 
their  material  from  this  same  source.  Scoresby's  book 
is  a  classic  as  regards  the  early  history  of  whaling,  and 
in  addition  it  gives  a  very  good  outline  of  the  principal 
European  fisheries  up  to  the  second  decade  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

Macy,  the  historian  of  Nantucket,  wrote  a  history  of 
his  native  island  up  to  the  year  1836,  which  is  a  valuable 
source  of  information  concerning  the  early  development 
of  whaling  in  this  country.  Almost  until  the  time 
Macy  wrote,  Nantucket  was  the  leader  in  the  whale 
fishery,  so  that  whatever  he  records  takes  on  a  double 
value.  From  the  very  nature  of  the  book,  a  general 
history  of  the  whole  island,  the  references  to  whaling 
are  necessarily  scattered.  But  the  fishing  was  so 
important  to  the  islanders  that  a  fairly  connected  history 
of  it  at  that  place  is  more  or  less  constantly  interwoven 
with  the  rest. 

The  "History  of  Nantucket,"  by  Macy,  is  one  of  the 
few  important  original  sources  in  the  history  of  the 
whale  fishery.  A  large  part  of  the  facts  presented 
are  the  result  of  years  of  personal  observation  and 
experience  on  the  ground.  Much  of  the  rest  was  obtained 
from  local  records.  The  fact  that  many  of  these  records 
have  since  been  destroyed  by  fire  makes  Macy's  book 
practically  the  only  good  source  of  information  con- 
cerning the  Nantucket  fishery.  The  book  also  gives 
an  intensely  interesting  portrayal  of  the  conditions  in  a 
community  dependent  on  a  single  industry — and  that 
industry  as  full  of  ups  and  downs  as  was  the  whale 


Introductory  Chapter.  3 

fishery.  Nowhere  else  in  the  literature  is  there  a  more 
vivid  account  of  the  way  in  which  a  people's  environ- 
ment literally  forced  them  to  a  particular  industry,  and 
how  that  industry  shaped  and  modified  social  and 
economic  conditions.  As  a  real  interpretation  of  the 
whale  fishery,  Macy's  book  stands  practically  alone. 

The  "History  of  New  Bedford,"  by  Daniel  Ricketson, 
is  unfortunately  not  so  valuable  as  Macy's  history,  in 
its  discussion  of  the  whale  fishery.  New  Bedford  was 
a  greater  whaling  port  than  Nantucket  ever  was,  but 
Ricketson  seems  to  have  given  the  industry  relatively  less 
attention.  This  fact  is  particularly  to  be  regretted, 
because,  as  in  the  case  of  Nantucket,  many  of  the  New 
Bedford  records  were  destroyed  by  fire.  Ricketson 
gives  many  interesting  and  valuable  facts  concerning 
the  local  industry,  but  there  is  little  beyond  that — prac- 
tically nothing,  in  fact,  to  give  much  suggestion  about 
the  industry  as  a  whole. 

In  the  decade  between  1870  and  1880  there  were 
printed  the  only  histories  of  whaling  which  have  appeared 
in  this  country.  They  were:  the  "Report  on  the  Prin- 
cipal Fisheries  of  the  American  Seas,"  by  Lorenzo  Sabine ; 
the  "Marine  Mammals  of  the  Northwestern  Coast  of 
North  America,  with  an  Account  of  the  American  Whale 
Fishery,"  by  Scammon;  and,  finally,  Alexander  Star- 
buck's  "History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery  from 
its  Earliest  Inception  to  the  year  1876." 

Sabine's  work  needs  little  mention  since  it  is  neither 
as  complete  nor  as  thorough  as  the  other  two.  Scammon, 
on  the  other  hand,  gives  a  fairly  good  portrayal  of  cer- 
tain phases  of  the  subject.  In  the  first  part  of  his  book 
Scammon  devotes  himself  almost  entirely  to  the  natural 
history  of  the  whales,  the  different  species,  their  char- 
acteristics, distribution  and  relative  values.  The  more 
valuable  part  of  the  discussion  is  that  part  dealing  with 
the  Pacific  whale  fishery,  to  which  branch  of  tin  industry 
Scammon  gives  most  of  his  attention.     Nowhere  else  is 


4  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

there  such  a  complete  statement  of  the  origin  and  devel- 
opment of  the  fishery  on  the  west  coast.  The  accounts  of 
shore  and  "between  season"  whaling  are  especially  valu- 
able and  at  the  same  time  very  interesting  reading. 
Scammon's  work  is  essentially  the  statement  of  the  con- 
ditions of  the  western  fishery  rather  than  in  the  nature 
of  a  history  of  the  whaling  industry. 

Alexander  Starbuck  may  be  said  to  be  practically 
the  only  one  who  has  written  an  actual  history  of  the 
whale  fishery.  His  book  was  published  in  1876  under 
the  title,  "History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery  from 
its  Earliest  Inception  to  the  year  1876."  The  title, 
however,  is  somewhat  pretentious,  since  in  several  ways 
the  history  is  rather  incomplete.  But  whatever  its 
limitations,  Starbuck 's  work  is  now,  and  always  must 
be,  the  classic  treatise  on  the  American  whale  fishery. 
The  many  references  to  Starbuck  in  the  following 
chapters  will  show  how  frequently  he  has  been  drawn 
on  for  facts.  Starbuck  has  been  accused  more  than 
once  of  being  inaccurate  and  unreliable.  But  if  these 
accusations  are  true  they  must  be  founded  on  minor 
points.  In  the  use  of  the  book  there  was  ample  oppor- 
tunity to  judge  of  its  value.  In  most  important  questions 
the  authority  or  source  is  stated.  Whenever  possible 
these  were  verified  before  being  accepted  for  this  present 
history,  and  almost  without  exception  they  were  found 
to  be  correct. 

The  most  valuable  part  of  Starbuck's  work  is  in  his 
history  of  the  fishery  in  colonial  times.  This  part  of  the 
work  is  the  most  thorough  and  the  most  complete, 
though  in  many  places  the  general  arrangement  of  topics 
makes  it  rather  difficult  to  follow  the  real  course  of 
development.  Starbuck  drew  quite  extensively  from 
Macy,  and  in  most  cases  he  acknowledges  the  fact.  But 
in  other  cases,  Macy  was  unmistakably  the  original 
source  though  no  reference  is  made  to  that  author. 
In  some  cases,  also,  Macy's  full  presentation  conveys  a 


Introductory  Chapter.  5 

better,  if  not  a  somewhat  different,  impression  from 
that  gained  in  reading  Starbuck's  adaptation  of  it. 
That,  however,  is  a  rather  unimportant  matter,  but  for 
an  authority  it  is  best  to  use  Macy  directly  wherever 
possible,  rather  than  to  use  Starbuck's  more  recent  work. 

In  the  chapters  covering  the  period  from  the  begin- 
ning of  whaling  by  the  early  colonists,  down  to  the  end 
of  the  war  of  1812,  Starbuck's  history  is  generally  ser- 
viceable and  satisfactory.  But  the  history  of  whaling 
subsequent  to  181 5  is  by  no  means  as  adequately  treated. 
There  is  no  clear  statement  of  the  conditions  underlying 
the  great  growth  of  whaling  interests  from  1825  onward, 
in  fact,  there  is  very  little  said  about  the  growth  itself. 
Starbuck  touches  on  some  of  the  important  causes 
which  started  the  decline  of  whaling  and  there  he  stops. 
In  a  book  of  nearly  800  pages,  about  170  odd  pages  are 
given  up  to  the  historical  discussion,  and  the  rest  is 
devoted  to  lists  of  clearances,  entries  and  cargoes,  of  the 
individual  vessels  from  1784  to  1876.  These  records 
are  valuable  in  a  way,  but  not  sufficiently  important  to 
deserve  so  much  space  when  the  history  of  the  industry 
itself  was  left  unfinished. 

Three  rather  serious  defects  appear  in  Starbuck's 
work:  (1)  the  fact,  already  noted,  that  the  period 
from  1825  to  i860  receives  but  little  attention  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  it  was  the  most  important  era  in  the 
whole  history  of  whaling.  Why  Starbuck  did  not 
discuss  it  clearly  is  hard  to  understand.  (2)  He  places 
no  emphasis  whatever  on  the  commercial  and  economic 
aspects  of  the  industry.  In  fact,  he  scarcely  mentions 
the  development  of  trade  in  whale  products.  Yet  the 
whale  fishery  was  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  New 
England  fisheries  and  its  products  formed  a  large  part 
of  the  country's  export  trade  during  the  early  days  of 
whaling.  (3)  And  finally,  from  his  more  or  less  irreg- 
ular arrangement  of  topics  it  is  rather  difficult  to  trace 
the  growth  of  whaling  interests.     Starbuck's  work  was 


6  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

the  best  of  its  time,  but  it  unquestionably  left  the  field 
open  for  a  more  thoroughly  analytical  discussion  of  the 
whale  fishery,  especially  in  its  economic  relations. 

It  was  stated  that  the  works  of  Sabine,  Scammon  and 
Starl >uck  were  the  only  histories  of  whaling.  The  great 
work  on  the  "Fisheries  and  Fishing  Industries  of  the 
United  States,"  compiled  under  the  direction  of  G. 
Brown  Goode,  in  1884,  contains  a  history  of  whaling. 
But  in  most  respects  it  added  practically  nothing  to 
what  had  been  done  by  Scammon  and  Starbuck.  Page 
after  page  are  quoted  directly  from  these  two  authors, 
without  going  beyond  what  they  wrote.  Hence  there  is 
essentially  the  same  incomplete  treatment  of  important 
periods  and  important  aspects  of  the  industry. 

This  report  is,  however,  very  valuable  in  one  respect, 
that  is,  in  its  description  of  apparatus  and  methods  of 
capture.  Scammon  discussed  that  phase  somewhat 
and  Starbuck  touches  it  incidentally  in  a  number  of 
places.  But  Goode 's  compilation  gives  a  very  exhaus- 
tive account  of  apparatus,  boats,  methods  of  capture, 
and  securing  and  preparing  the  products.  On  this 
phase  of  the  subject  Goode  is  by  far  the  best  authority 
up  to  1884. 

So  much  for  the  few  works  which  have  dealt  with 
the  history  of  whaling.  Only  one  other  source  needs 
special  mention,  that  is  the  "Whalemen's  Shipping  List 
and  Merchants'  Transcript,"  a  trade  journal  published 
in  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  since  1843.  The  "  Shipping  List  " 
began  as  a  mere  monthly  transcript  of  clearances,  entries 
and  cargoes — a  small  octavo  pamphlet.  Later  on  it 
more  than  doubled  in  size  and  was  enlarged  to  a  quarto 
magazine,  issued  every  Week,  which  included  important 
discussions  concerning  the  fishery.  It  is  still  issued 
weekly,  but  it  is  now  only  a  single  sheet,  the  most  eloquent 
expression  of  the  decline  of  whaling.  The  "Shipping  List" 
is  without  question  the  best  single  source  of  information 
regarding  the  condition  of  the  industry  since  1845.     Its 


Introductory  Chapter.  7 

files  are  a  veritable  mine  of  valuable  facts  and  suggestions. 
Its  publication  of  statistics  concerning  the  whale  fishery- 
is  alone  ample  justification  for  its  existence.  So  far  as 
is  known  the  New  Bedford  Public  Library  is  the  only 
library  having  a  complete  file. 


CHAPTER  II. 
The  Origin  of  Whaling. 

A  little  over  a  half  century  ago  the  whale  fishery  was 
one  of  the  most  prosperous  and  profitable  industries  of 
Southern  New  England.  The  arrival  and  departure  of 
whaling  vessels  were  everyday  events  at  New  Bedford, 
then  the  greatest  of  all  whaling  ports.  Now  the  coming 
of  a  schooner  full  laden,  from  a  short  successful  voyage 
causes  a  flurry  of  comment  as  an  unusual  occurrence, 
and  the  older  generation  recalls  the  days  when  whaling 
was  in  its  prime.  The  exciting  stories  of  voyages,  of 
shipwreck,  fierce  encounters  with  whales,  hairbreadth 
escapes,  as  well  as  the  more  prosaic  question  of  profits 
and  losses  no  longer  furnish  an  important  topic  of  con- 
versation as  they  did  in  the  younger  days  of  our  fathers 
and  grandfathers  in  many  a  New  England  town.  Within 
the  history  of  this  country  whaling  has  risen,  passed  its 
zenith  and  has  now  nearly  sunk  below  the  horizon  of 
industrial  importance.  Few  industries  offer  an  oppor- 
tunity for  such  a  complete  study  of  the  rise  and  decline. 
No  other  industry's  history  presents  a  more  interesting 
story. 

It  is  a  common  thing  to  find,  when  whaling  is  men- 
tioned, that  many  persons  look  upon  it  as  having  been 
what  might  almost  be  called  an  American  monopoly, 
doing  business  mainly  from  New  England  ports.  But 
about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  the 
Massachusetts  settlers  were  making  their  first  attempt 
in  the  capture  of  whales,  the  Biscay  fishermen  had 
already  extensively  engaged  in  the  whale  fishery.  The 
Dutch  and  English  had  followed  their  examples.     The 


The  Origin  of  Whaling.  9 

Russia  or  Muscovy  Company,  of  English  merchant 
adventurers,  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  royal  charter 
granting  them  a  monopoly  of  whaling,  and  other  mari- 
time nations  of  Europe  had  turned  their  attention  to 
this  new  enterprise  of  capturing  whales  in  the  northern 
seas.  It  seems  appropriate,  therefore,  in  a  history  of 
the  American  whale  fishery  to  trace  briefly  the  origin 
and  earlier  history  of  the  industry  in  other  countries, 
for  the  sake  of  making  clear  whatever  inter-relationship 
there  may  be. 

Most  historians  give  the  Biscayans  the  credit  of  being 
the  first  to  succeed  in  capturing  whales,  the  date  of  their 
operations  being  generally  set  as  about  1575.  It  is  hard 
to  tell,  however,  whether  this  Bay  of  Biscay  enterprise 
was  the  first  regular  whaling  industry,  for  references  to 
the  capture  and  killing  of  whales  may  be  traced  as  far 
back  at  least  as  the  latter  part  of   the  ninth    century.1 

Probably  the  earliest  authenticated  account  of  a  fishery 
for  whales  is  referred  to  by  Hakluyt.2  Ohthere,  a  native 
of  Halgoland,  undertook  a  voyage  to  the  north  about 
890  A.  D.,  skirting  the  coast  of  Norway  to  the  entrance 
of  the  White  Sea,  until  "he  was  come  as  far  toward  the 
north  as  commonly  the  whale  hunters  used  to  travel."1 

The  fishery  referred  to  was  one  carried  on  supposedly 
by  the  Norwegians  at  that  time,  but  the  importance  of 
their  industry  is  not  known. 

The  Normans,  in  their  invasions  of  France  may  have 
carried  with  them  the  methods  of  harpooning  and  cap- 
turing whales.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  the  Bis- 
cayans may  have  known  these  arts  before  the  Normans 

'Most  of  the  following  references  to  whaling  previous  to  1600  are 
drawn  from  Scores!  >y :  "A  Voyage  to  the  Arctic,  and  an  Account  of  the 
Northern  Whale  Fishery."  [Scorcshy  states  (note,  p.  to)  that  a  work 
by  S.  J.  B.  Noel.  "  Memoire  sur  1' Antiquity  de  la  Peche  de  la  Baleine 
par  les  Nations  Europ^annes,"  Paris,  1705,  is  the  best  authority  on 
ancient  whale  fisheries] 

'Hakluyt:  "Voyages"  Vol.  1,  p.  4 

iloc.  cit. 


io  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

came,  for  the  French  were  undoubtedly  acquainted 
with  the  business  at  a  very  early  date.  Thus,  in  a  book 
entitled  "Translation  et  des  Miracles  de  Saint  Vaast," 
published  about  875,  mention  is  made  of  whale  fishing 
on  the  French  coast;  and  in  another  book  "Vie  de  Saint 
Arnould  Eveque  de  Soissons,"  printed  in  the  eleventh 
century,  there  is  an  account  of  a  miracle  performed  by 
the  saint  in  helping  to  capture  an  escaping  whale,  in 
which  particular  mention  is  made  of  the  fishery  with 
the  harpoon.4  About  the  same  time  William  the  Con- 
queror gave  the  Convent  of  the  Holy  Trinity  of  Caen 
a  tithe  of  the  whales  captured  at  or  brought  to  Dive.5 
This  fact,  with  other  similar  entries  in  the  records, 
indicate  that  a  more  or  less  regular  whale  fishery  was 
then  carried  on  near  the  coasts  of  Normandy  and 
Flanders.  A  French  manuscript  of  the  thirteenth  century 
makes  mention  of  whale's  flesh  being  used  for  food. 
The  great  D'Aussy,  in  his  work  "La  vie  privee  des 
Francais,"  makes  it  appear  that  the  flesh,  and  particu- 
larly the  tongue,  was  sold  in  the  public  markets  of 
Bayonne,  Cibourre  and  Beariz,  and  that  it  was  regarded 
as  a  delicacy.6  It  is  supposed  that  the  whales  were 
taken  along  the  coast  and  that  the  flesh  was  therefore 
sold  in  a  fresh  state.  But  whether  whaling  was  a  regular 
industry  is  uncertain. 

A  Danish  work,  supposed  to  have  been  written 
about  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century,  states  that  the 
Icelanders  were  in  the  habit  of  pursuing  whales  and 
that  they  lived  on  the  flesh  of  some  one  of  the  species.7 

It  is  not  clear  whether  the  English  made  any  very 
early  attempts  at  actual  whaling,  the  first  references 
to  whales  appearing  in  the  fourteenth  century.  At  that 
time  Edward  III  of  England,  had  a  revenue  of  £6  sterling 

*  Scoresby,  p.  12. 
'Scoresby,  p.  13. 
1  Scoresby,  p.  14. 
1  Scoresby,  p.  11 


The  Origin  of  Whaling.  1 1 

on  every  whale  taken  and  brought  into  the  French 
port,  Beariz.  By  1338  this  revenue  was  important 
enough  to  be  the  subject  of  a  petition  by  the  English 
admiral  stationed  at  Bayonne,  and  it  was  awarded  to 
him  in  consideration  of  his  naval  services.8  By  a  royal 
act  in  131 5  Edward  II  had  reserved  for  himself  the 
rights  to  all  whales  cast  by  chance  on  the  shore,  and  two 
centuries  later  Henry  IV  gave  the  Church  at  Rochester 
the  tithe  of  whales  taken  along  the  shore  of  that  bishopric* 
But  these  and  the  other  early  English  references,  so  few 
in  number,  all  leave  doubt  whether  the  whales  referred 
to  were  pursued  and  killed  in  the  open  sea,  or  were 
merely  those  accidentally  run  on  shore. 

Thus,  up  to  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Norwegians, 
French,  Icelanders  and  English  had  in  some  degree 
turned  their  attention  to  the  revenue  to  be  derived 
from  whales.  Any  estimation  of  the  importance  of  the 
whale  fishery  among  these  nations  during  the  early 
period  is  purely  conjecture.  About  all  the  records  show 
is  that  the  taking  and  utilization  of  whales  was  a  common 
practice  at  least  among  these  four  European  nations, 
and  that  the  industry  was  apparently  conducted  on  the 
largest  scale  by  the  French.  Certain  it  is  that  the 
Biscayans,  both  French  and  Spanish,  were  the  most 
distinguished  whalemen   during  the   sixteenth   century. 

The  Bay  of  Biscay  fishery  depended  on  a  kind  of 
"fin  whales"  which  were  in  the  habit  of  frequenting  the 
bay  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  When  their  capture 
developed  into  a  more  regular  industry,  however,  the 
whales  became  shy  and  less  abundant.  The  whalers, 
desiring  a  more  constant  fishery  than  the  brief  season 
in  the  bay,  and  being  good  sailors,  pursued  the  whales 
into  the  open  sea.  Before  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  these  Biscayans,  following  in  the  track  of 
Sebastian   Cabot,    had   extended    their   voyages   as   far 

8S<-   ■  14. 

•  Scoresby,  p.  15-16. 


12  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

west  as  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  touching  Iceland 
and  Greenland  on  the  way.  From  Gosnold's  journal 
of  his  voyage  in  1602  it  is  also  probable  that  they  cruised 
southward  along  the  New  England  coast.10  It  is  impos- 
sible to  say  what  proportions  the  Biscayan  industry 
ever  assumed,  though  it  is  unquestioned  that  the  Biscay 
whalers  were  the  mainstays  of  many  of  the  whaling 
fleets  of  Europe  for  a  long  time  after  whaling  became 
an  important  industry.  The  Icelanders,  with  whom 
the  Biscayans  came  in  contact,  were  attracted  by  the 
prospect  of  a  new  branch  of  commerce.  They  fitted 
out  vessels,  and  uniting  their  energies  with  those  of  the 
Biscayans,  carried  on  such  an  extensive  fishery  that 
toward  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  number 
of  vessels  employed  by  the  united  nations  amounted 
to  fifty  or  sixty  sail  annually.11  As  late  as  1721  twenty 
ships  were  sent  out  on  whaling  voyages  from  different 
ports  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  but  toward  the  latter  part 
of  the  eighteenth  century  the  occupation  appears  to  have 
been  totally  abandoned.12 

The  French  in  general  had  greatly  neglected  the 
whale  fishery  during  the  seventeenth  century.  In  1784 
they  attempted  to  revive  it,  fitting  out  ships  at  Dunkirk 
and  offering  inducements  for  Nantucket  whalemen  to 
remove  to  that  place,  but  before  the  project  was  well 
begun  it  was  interrupted  by  the  French  Revolution 
and  whaling  as  a  French  enterprise  was  practically 
abandoned. 

After  the  French,  the  English  were  the  next  important 
nation  to  embark  in  the  whaling  industry.  The  first 
English  attempt  of  which  there  is  any  satisfactory 
account,  was  made  in  1594,  when  ships  were  fitted  out 
for  Cape  Breton,  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
part  of  the  vessels  were  to  engage  in  hunting  the  walrus, 

10  Ricketson:  History  of  New  Bedford,  p.  56. 

11  Scoresby,  p.  iS. 
11  Scoresby,  p.  163. 


The  Origin  of  Whaling.  13 

the  rest  in  the  whale  fishery.  One  of  the  vessels  carried 
home  a  large  quantity  of  whalebone,  which  had  been 
cast  up  from  the  wreck  of  two  large  Biscay  fishermen 
in  St.  George's  Bay.  This  bone  was  probably  the  first, 
at  least  the  first  recorded,  importation  of  whalebone 
into  England.13 

It  was  the  Spitzbergen  fishery,  however,  which 
attracted  most  of  the  English  ventures,  this  northern 
fishery  growing  out  of  the  attempts  to  discover  a  north- 
east passage  to  China  and  from  the  trading  of  the  Russia 
Company  to  Moscow  by  way  of  the  White  Sea  and 
Archangel.  The  discovery  of  the  Greenland  grounds 
followed  that  of  Spitzbergen  as  a  natural  outcome  of 
the  spirit  of  adventure  of  the  time.  The  merchants  of 
Hull  fitted  out  whaling  vessels  as  early  as  1598,  con- 
tinuing regularly  for  several  years,  on  the  coasts  of 
Iceland,  near  North  Cape,  and  about  Spitzbergen  after 
its  rediscovery  by  Hudson  in  1607.  In  that  short  time 
the  whale  fishery,  as  Scoresby  says,14  "proved  the  most 
lucrative  and  most  important  branch  of  national  com- 
merce, which  had  ever  been  offered  to  the  industry  of 
man."  The  English,  however,  had  but  little  opportunity 
to  reap  benefit  from  this  trade  before  other  nations  ap- 
peared as  competitors. 

Whaling  was  a  novel  enterprise  in  the  commercial 
world  at  the  opening  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It  was 
practical  and  easy  because  the  whales  were  found  in 
abundance  in  convenient  places,  and  the  fishery  was 
expected  to  enrich  the  adventurers  far  beyond  any  other 
branch  of  trade  then  carried  on.  It  inevitably  drew 
the  attention  of  all  the  commercial  people  of  Europe, 
Scarcely  had  the  English  established  themselves  in  the 
Spitzbergen  fishery  before  they  were  followed  by  the 
Dutch,  Spanish,  French,  Danes  and  Hamburg  mer- 
chants.15 

15  Scoresby,  p.  18. 

14  p.  19. 

11  Scoresby,  p.  100. 


14  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

In  1 612  the  vessels  of  the  Russia  Company  met  off 
Spitzbergen  one  Dutch  and  one  Spanish  ship  from  Biscay, 
fitted  for  whaling.  The  Dutch  vessel  was  driven  off, 
thus  marking  the  beginning  of  a  long  struggle  between 
the  two  nations  for  possession  of  this  much  desired 
trade.  The  next  year,  161 3,  to  protect  itself  from  these 
invaders,  the  Russia  Company  secured  a  royal  monopoly 
of  the  fishery.  By  this  charter  all  other  persons,  whether 
Englishmen  or  foreigners,  were  excluded  from  participa- 
tion therein.  The  company  prepared  for  an  armed 
enforcement  of  the  monopoly.  Again  Dutch  and 
Spanish  vessels  were  encountered  with  the  addition  of 
some  French,18  all  of  which  were  attacked  and  either 
driven  away  or  allowed  to  leave  in  peace  on  giving  up 
all  or  part  of  the  cargoes  they  had  secured.  The  con- 
flicts, however,  consumed  much  of  the  whaling  season, 
and  in  spite  of  the  levies  made  on  the  foreign  vessels  the 
venture  ended  in  a  financial  loss  for  the  company. 

These  conditions  of  rivalry,  sometimes  peaceable, 
sometimes  resulting  in  actual  conflict  and  bloodshed, 
continued  until  about  161 9,  when  a  conference  was  held 
to  adjust  the  differences.  The  English,  Dutch  and 
Danes  each  claimed  exclusive  right  to  the  fishery — the 
first  two  basing  their  claim  on  priority  of  discovery, 
the  last  on  the  supposition  that  Spitzbergen  was  a  part 
of  Greenland.  The  coast  of  Spitzbergen  is  very  irregular, 
making  many  bays  and  harbors  all  of  which  were  largely 
resorted  to  by  whales.  It  was  finally  agreed  that  these 
bays  and  harbors  were  to  be  divided  among  the  different 
nations  and  were  to  be  considered  the  sole  possessions  of 
those  to  whom  they  were  allotted.17  These  arrange- 
ments having  been  adopted,  whaling  was  carried  on 
more  peacefully,  each  nation,  including  English,  Dutch, 
Danes,    Hamburgers    and    Biscayans    carrying    on    the 

19  Scoresby,  p.  25-26. 
17  Scoresby,  p.  36. 


The  Origin  of  Whaling.  15 

fishery  exclusively  in  its  own  possession  or  along  the 
sea  coast,  which  was  free  for  all.18 

After  the  division  of  the  whaling  grounds  the  Dutch 
prosecuted  their  fishery  with  perseverance  and  profit. 
They  were  successfully  imitated  by  the  Hamburg  mer- 
chants and  by  other  Elbe  fishermen.  But  the  English 
made  only  occasional  voyages.  Sometimes  the  Russia 
Company  and  sometimes  London  merchants  sent  out 
vessels,  but  more  often  the  English  vessels  engaged  in 
other  branches  of  trade.19  The  English,  as  well  as  all 
the  other  early  adventurer's  in  the  whale  fishery,  were 
dependent  on  the  Biscayans,  for  they,  from  long  years 
of  training,  were  skilled  in  the  business.  Harpooners, 
coopers  and  cutters  of  fat,  the  most  important  officers, 
were  usually  all  Biscayans.20  This  dependence  on 
foreigners  for  help  was  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the 
early  English  failures  in  the  whale  fishery. 

So  consistently  unsuccessful  were  the  English  whalers 
that  the  British  Parliament  in  1672  deemed  it  necessary 
to  pass  an  act  to  stimulate  the  industry.  All  whale 
products  were  exempted  from  import  duties  for  a  period 
of  ten  years,  except  when  imported  through  colonies. 
Colonial  imports  paid  duties  of  six  shillings  per  ton  for 
oil  and  fifty  shillings  per  ton  for  bone,  while  foreign 
imports  paid  £9  and  £i§  respectively.  But  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  th  n  whale  fishery  was  successful, 

the  British  attempts  resulted  mainly  in  failure.'1 

In  1725  the  South  Sea  Company  embarked  in  the 
whaling  business  with  twelve  ships,  but  met  with  only 
indifferent  success.     The  company  ver, 

for  eight  years,  when,  in  1732,  whaling  was  abandoned 
after  the  loss  of  large  sums  1  >f  money.  Another  company, 
known  as  the  Greenland  Company,  had  been  chart' 

l$  Scorcsby,  p.  38. 

19  Scoresby,  p.  4'' 

30  Scoresby,  p.  39. 

oresby,  p.  64. 


i6  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

toward  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  mainly  with 
a  view  to  carrying  on  whaling  in  the  Greenland  and 
Davis  Straits  fields.  The  company  was  chartered  for 
fourteen  years  with  a  capital  of  £82,000,  but  before 
the  expiration  of  the  charter  the  capital  was  entirely 
consumed  by  the  heavy  losses.22  At  the  same  time 
the  Dutch  whalers  were  uniformly  successful. 

The  same  year  that  the  South  Sea  Company  abandoned 
whaling,  1732,  Parliament  granted  an  annual  bounty  of 
twenty  shillings  per  ton  on  all  British  whaling  vessels  of 
200  tons  or  upward.  But  only  two  vessels  sent  out  by 
private  individuals  benefited  from  it.  In  1740  the 
bounty  was  increased  to  thirty  shillings  per  ton  and 
officers  of  fishing  vessels  were  exempted  from  liability 
of  impressment  into  the  British  navy.  Again,  in  1749, 
another  ten  shillings  was  added  to  the  bounty,  making 
a  total  of  forty  shillings  per  ton  annually.23  The  effects 
of  the  bounty,  with  the  other  inducements,  were  such 
that  the  British  whaling  industry  again  assumed  a 
respectable  and  hopeful  appearance,  and  by  1755  it  was 
fairly  well  established.24 

The  bounty  was  continued  with  some  changes  until 
1798,  when  it  was  reduced  to  twenty  shillings  per  ton. 
where  it  remained  for  many  years.  After  1785  the 
number  of  British  ships  fitted  for  whaling  voyages  rose 
as  high  as  250  sail25  in  a  single  year,  and  for  several 
years  it  averaged  over  150  ships  annually.  Thus,  by 
national  support,  in  the  form  of  bounties,  the  British 
whale  fishery  was  established  on  a  firm  basis,  but  only 
after  the  lapse  of  almost  two  centuries  of  an  intermittent, 
precarious  existence. 

Among  all  the  nations  of  Europe  the  Dutch  stood 
highest  as  whalers.     They  were  in  early  days  famous 

"  Scoresby,  p.  104. 
"  Scoresby,  p.  72-73. 
14  Scoresby,  p.  75. 
M  Scoresby,  p.  iig-120. 


The  Origin  of  IV haling.  17 

for  their  maritime  exploits  ami  they  were  more  assiduous 
in  the  northern  whale  fishery  than  any  other  nation, 
pursuing  the  trade  for  a  long  time  with  great  vigor.  To 
them  is  attributed  the  improvement  of  the  harpoon, 
the  use  of  the  reel  and  line  and  the  lance.26  The  Dutch 
began  whaling  about  161 2,  following  the  English  into 
the  Spitzbergen  region,  and  they  were  consistently  more 
successful  than  any  other  nation.  It  was  no  uncommon 
thing,  says  Scoresby,27  for  them  to  procure  such  vast 
quantities  of  oil  that  empty  ships  were  required  to  take 
home  the  superabundance  of  the  product. 

During  the  early  years  the  Dutch  whaling  industry 
was  a  monopoly  in  the  hands  of  a  company  similar  to 
the  English  Russia  Company.  In  1642  this  monopoly  was 
r  moved,  but  the  fishery  continued  to  flourish  with 
even  greater  prosperity.  Between  1660  and  1670,  400 
to  500  Dutch  and  Hamburg  ships  visited  the  coast  of 
Spitzbergen  yearly,  while  the  English  sometimes  did  not 
send  a  single  vessel.28  But  the  inevitable  consequence 
of  such  activity  was  soon  apparent,  because  of  the  con- 
stant and  vigorous  pursuit,  the  whales  became  scai 
receding  first  to  the  open  sea  and  then  to  the  protec- 
tion of  the  ice.  The  fishery  was  more  dangerous,  and 
where  success  had  been  so  regular  as  to  be  regarded  as 
a  certainty  there  were  now  frequent  unsuccessful 
voyages  and  losses  from  encounters  with  ice.  The  trade, 
therefore,  began  to  decline.  But  the  decline  of  the 
Spitzbergen  fishery  resulted  in  the  opening  of  the  Davis 
Straits  fishery,  the  Dutch,  in  1719,  being  the  first  to  send 
vessels  there.28 

All    through    the    seventeenth    and    early    eighti 
centuries   the    Dutch   whaling   industry   was   in    a  pros- 
perous condition,  sending  out  an  average  of  over   150 

M  Ricketson,  New  Bedford,  p.  55. 
37  p.  41-42. 

iresby,  p.  56. 
M  Scoresby,  p.  64 


i8  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

ships  annually  up  to  about  1730.30  After  that  year 
the  size  of  the  fleet  seems  to  have  decreased  gradually, 
for  by  1770  only  about  forty  vessels  a  year  were  engaged, 
in  whaling  from  Dutch  ports.  From  1770  the  Dutch 
fishery  began  to  decline  more  rapidly,  following  the 
general  decline  of  the  Dutch  commercial  eminence. 
Where  the  Dutch  had  held  so  marked  superiority  over 
the  English  for  more  than  a  century  and  a  half,  the 
conditions  were  now  reversed,  through  the  stimulus 
given  to  English  whaling  by  the  royal  bounties.  By 
181 5  the  Dutch  industry  had  fallen  so  low  that  the 
government  deemed  it  necessary  to  give  direct  money 
bounties  for  its  encouragement,  and  provided  for  the 
payment  of  4,000  florins  towards  outfitting  every 
whaling  vessel.  Thus  the  Dutch  fishery  passed  in 
reverse  order  through  the  same  stages  as  did  the  English. 
The  history  of  the  American  whale  fishery  will  reveal 
many  conditions  analogous  to  the  phases  through  which 
the  European  fisheries  passed.  Beginning  in  the  same 
small  way  of  carrying  on  operations  from  shore  or  near 
the  land,  whaling  in  America  grew  to  be  a  regular  deep 
sea  fishery  as  whales  grew  scarce.  It  passed  through 
the  same  stages  of  years  of  fluctuating  successes  and 
precarious  existence,  periods  of  prosperity  and  years 
of  support  by  bounties.  Though  the  American  fishery 
began  later,  its  growth  was  rather  more  rapid  than  the 
English  fishery.  By  the  time  that  American  whaling 
ventures  were  entering  on  their  period  of  greatest  pros- 
perity, the  English  activities  were  still  receiving  val- 
uable support  from  the  tonnage  bounties  paid  to  whaling 
ships,  and  the  Dutch  strength  was  nearly  expended. 
History  frequently  repeated  itself  in  the  case  of  the 
whale  fisheries  of  different  nations,  but  the  conditions 
under  which  it  existed  made  the  American  industry  the 
greatest  of  all. 

30  Scoresby,  table,  p.  156. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Rise  of  American  Whaling  from  the  Settling 
of  Massachusetts  to  the  War  of  1812. 

By  1620  the  English  and  Dutch  Spitzbergen  whale 
fishery  had  assumed  such  importance  that  the  methods 
and  advantages  of  the  industry  must  have  been  well 
known  to  the  early  New  England  colonists  before  they 
came  to  America.  Thatcher1  says  that  the  early  settlers 
were  at  first  undecided  whether  to  adopt  Cape  Cod  for 
their  new  home  or  to  look  for  some  more  attractive  site, 
and  that  one  of  the  main  arguments  in  favor  of  the 
Cape  Cod  locality  was  the  prospect  of  profitable  fishing 
it  afforded;  "for  large  whales  of  the  best  kind  for  oil 
and  bone  came  daily  alongside  and  played  about  the 
ship.  The  master  and  his  mate,  and  others  experienced 
in  fishing,  preferred  it  to  the  Greenland  whale  fishery,2  and 
asserted  that  were  they  provided  with  the  proper  imple- 
ments £300  or  £400  worth  of  oil  might  be  secured." 

That  whales  were  abundant  at  this  time  both  in  deep 
water  and  along  the  coast  seems  undoubted.  According 
to  Starbuck,8  Captain  John  Smith,  in  1614,  found  whales 
so  plentiful  along  the  coast  that  he  turned  aside  from 
the  original  object  of  his  voyage  to  pursue  Hum.  And 
Sabine  quotes  from  the  journal  of  Richard  Mather,  who 
came  to  Massachusetts  Bay  colony  in  1635,  where  the 
latter  tells  of  seeing,  off  the  New  England  coast,  "mighty 
whales  spewing  up  water  in  the  air  like  the  smoke  of  a 
chimney     ...    of  such  incredible  bigness  that  I  will 

1  Thatcher:  History  of  Plymouth,  p.  21. 

J  The  italics  are  mine. 

'  Starbuck:   History  of  American  Whale  Fishery.      Footnote,  p.  5. 


20  A  History  of  the  American  W hale  Fishery. 

never  wonder  that  the  body  of  Jonah  could  be  in  the 
belly  of  a  whale."4 

It  is  evident  from  these  facts  that  there  was  an  abund- 
ant source  of  a  profitable  whale  fishery,  wThile  Thatcher's 
statement  indicates  that  among  the  first  colonists  there 
were  men,  at  least  well  acquainted  with,  if  not  actually 
experienced  in,  whaling.  It  is  quite  generally  accepted 
that  along  with  the  idea  of  religious  freedom  one  of  the 
main  purposes  in  the  settlement  of  Massachusetts  was 
the  founding  of  a  fishing  colony.  The.  right  to  fish 
without  restriction  of  any  kind  was  one  of  the  important 
provisions  of  the  royal  charter.  The  first  emigrants  to 
the  Bermudas,  about  fifty  in  number,  wrere  sent  out  in 
1612.  Richard  Moore,  a  ship's  carpenter,  was  the  first 
governor,  and  the  instructions  given  to  him  specified 
various  sources  of  wealth  which  might  be  derived  from 
the  colony.  Among  these  sources  ambergris  and  wdiale 
oil  were  included  as  important.  The  history  of  American 
whaling,  therefore,  may  be  said  to  begin  almost  with 
the  settlement  of  the  New  England  colonies,  though 
several  decades  elapsed  before  it  appears  to  have  become 
a  regular  or  at  all  important  pursuit.  It  is  quite  prob- 
able, however,  that  some  attempts  at  whaling  were  made 
before  the  time  of  any  recorded  account  now^  available. 

Most  of  the  early  references  to  whales  and  whaling  in 
the  Massachusetts  colonies,  now  available,  occur  in  the 
legislative  records.  The  subject  of  drift  whales  appears 
to  have  attracted  a  good  deal  of  attention  in  both  the 
Plymouth  and  the  Massachusetts  Bay  colonies,  for  there 
are  numerous  instances  of  orders  relating  to  their  owner- 
ship and  disposal.  Thus,  according  to  Freeman,5  the 
town  of  Eastham,  in  1662,  voted  that  a  part  of  every 
whale  cast  ashore  should  be  appropriated  for  the  support 
of  the  ministry.  But  almost  without  exception  these 
early  references  speak  only  of  drift  whales,  thus  making 

4  Sabine:  Fisheries  of  the  American  Seas,  p.  42. 
'Freeman:   History  of  Cape  Cod,  II,  p.  362. 


The  Rise  of  American  JVImling.  21 

it  uncertain  when  the  actual  pursuit  and  capture  of 
whales  began  to  be  practiced  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Massachusetts. 

The  first  unmistakable  indications  that  whaling  had 
become  a  regular  business  in  Massachusetts  appear  in 
1688  when  Secretary  Randolph  wrote  home  to  England: 
"New  Plimouth  colony  have  great  profit  by  whale 
killing.  I  believe  it  will  be  one  of  our  best  returns,  now 
beaver  and  peltry  fayle  us."8  The  records  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts colony  for  the  same  year  show  a  memorandum 
setting  forth  the  principle  that  "each  company's"  harping 
iron  and  lance  be  distinctly  marked  on  ye  heads  and 
socketts  with  a  poblick  mark."7  This  principle  is  essen- 
tially the  long  recognized  law  of  whalemen  that  "the 
craft  claims  the  whale."  The  Plymouth  colony  records 
for  1690  show  the  appointment  of  "inspectors  of  whales" 
as  a  means  of  preventing  suits  by  whalers.8 

In  1688  an  inhabitant  of  Salem,  Mass.,  claiming  that 
he  had  been  engaged'in  whaling  for  twenty-two  years, 
petitioned  the  colonial  authorities  for  a  patent  for 
making  oil.  And  four  years  later  a  number  of  Salem 
whalers  complained  that  whales  struck  by  them  and 
bearing  their  irons  had  been  taken  by  Cape  Cod  whalers." 
From  these  facts  it  appears  that  whaling  had  come  to 
be  a  regular  and  plainly  important  business  from  several 
towns  in  the  Massachusetts  colonies  before  the  end  of 
the  seventeenth  century. 

Whaling  was  early  recognized  as  a  regular  pursuit  in 
the  Connecticut  and  the  Newr  York  colonies.  In  1647 
the  general  court  at  Hartford  granted  a  sort  of  mono- 
poly of  whaling  in  Connecticut  to  one  Whiting.10  This 
is  the  first  record  of  whaling  in   that  colony,   and  the 

•  Starbuck,  p.  8. 

Mass.  Col.  Mss.,  Treas.,  Ill,  p.  So. 

•  Plymouth  <-<>l    Records,  VI,  p.  253. 

•  Starbuck,  p.  18. 

10  Quoted  by  Starbuck,  p.  9,  from  Conn   Col    Record,  I,  p    154 


22  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

venture,  if  ever  tried,  probably  amounted  to  little,  since 
there  is  no  further  reference  to  whaling  until  (  many- 
years  later.  It  seems  probable,  however,  as  Starbuck 
asserts11  that  the  first  really  organized  prosecution  of  the 
whale  fishery  by  Americans  was  made  by  the  settlers 
at  the  eastern  end  of  Long  Island.  Howell12  states 
that  the  town  of  Southampton,  on  the  southern  shore 
of  Long  Island,  was  founded  in  1640  as  an  offshoot 
from  the  colony  at  Lynn,  Mass.,  and  that  almost  from 
the  very  first  the  settlers  recognized  the  possibilities  of 
deriving  revenue  from  the  taking  of  whales.  Accord- 
ingly, in  1644,  the  town  was  divided  into  four  wards 
of  eleven  persons  each,  whose  duty  it  was  to  attend  to 
all  drift  whales  cast  ashore  in  their  ward.  Whenever 
a  whale  was  secured,  it  was  customary  to  select  by  lot 
two  persons  from  each  ward  to  cut  it  up.  Every  inhab- 
itant was  to  share  equally  in  the  division,  except  the 
cutters,  who  had  a  double  portion  for  their  labor.  This 
cooperative  industry  may  be  regarded  as  the  direct 
ancestor  of  the  famous  system  of  a  "lay"  or  share  of  the 
catch  in  vogue  over  a  century  later. 

That  the  practice  of  taking  only  drift  whales  cast 
ashore  soon  gave  place  to  active  pursuit  of  whales  and 
killing  from  boats  is  shown  by  a  number  of  old  records. 
Thus,  in  1672,  the  towns  of  Easthampton,  Southampton 
and  Southwold,  at  the  eastern  end  of  Long  Island,  in  a 
memorial  to  the  court  at  Whitehall,  N.  Y.,  stated  that 
they  had  "spent  much  time  and  pains  ...  in  settling  the 
trade  of  whale  fishing  in  the  adjacent  seas,  having 
endeavored  in  it  above  these  twenty  years  past."11 
According  to  this  statement  boat  whaling  must  have 
commenced  as  early  as  1650.  In  1668  several  inhabitants 
of  Easthampton  formed  a  company  and  entered  into 
an   agreement    "binding   certain    Indians   to   go   to   sea 

"  Starbuck,  p.  9. 

"  Howell:  History  of  Southampton,  p.  179-1  So 

"  Starbuck,  p.  1 1 . 


The  Rise  of  American  Whaling.  23 

whaling."14  The  Indians  were  to  be  paid  three  shillings 
per  day,  the  craft  and  necessary  tackle  being  furnished 
by  the  partners.  Howell  says  that  boat  whaling  soon 
came  to  be  of  so  much  importance  in  the  community 
that  every  able  man  in  the  town  (Southampton)  was 
obliged  to  take  his  turn  in  watching  for  whales  from 
some  prominent  place  on  the  shore,  and  to  give  the 
alarm  as  soon  as  one  was  seen  near  the  coast.  It  was  not 
unusual  for  expeditions  of  several  boats  each  to  be 
fitted  out  for  whaling  along  the  coast,  the  voyages 
generally  lasting  about  two  weeks.  The  boats  were 
so  small,  however,  that  they  never  ventured  far  from 
land,  the  men  usually  camping  out  on  shore  during  the 
night.  Indians,  under  the  command  of  one  or  two 
white  men,  were  largely  employed  in  these  early  opera- 
tions of  boat  whaling.13 

The  whaling  business  of  Eastern  Long  Island  had 
become  important  enough  in  the  last  two  decades  of 
the  seventeenth  century  to.be  the  cause  of  more  or  less 
conflict  with  the  authorities  of  the  main  New  York 
colony.  The  trouble  arose  largely  from  the  practice  of 
the  whalers  in  making  Boston  or  some  Connecticut  port 
their  trading  center,  instead  of  taking  their  oil  to  New 
York.  As  early  as  1684  an  act  was  passed  laying  a  duty 
of  10  per  cent  on  all  oil  and  bone  exported  from  New- 
York  ports  to  any  outside  ports  except  directly  to  Eng- 
land or  to  the  West  Indies.19  But  the  act  accomplished 
very  little  in  the  way  of  forcing  the  Long  Island  whalers 
to  send  their  products  to  New  York  to  be  exported. 
These  records  are  chiefly  valuable,  however,  because 
they  furnish  about  the  only  suggestion  of  the  early  trade 
movements  of  whale  products. 

The  only  other  place  to  engage  in  whaling  p:v 
to  1700  was  Nantucket,  or  Sherburne  as   it  was  called, 

14  Starbuck.  p.  1  2, 

15  Starbuck,  p.  10. 
18  Starbuck.  p.  15. 


24  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

until  1795.  It  is  true  that  as  early  as  1652  '\vhale 
cutters"  were  appointed  at  Martha's  Vineyard,17  and 
that  other  orders  dealing  with  the  ownership  and  dis- 
posal of  whales  appear  occasionally  from  that  time  on, 
but  there  does  not  seem  to  have  been  any  regular  busi- 
ness of  whaling  before  the  end  of  the  century. 

With  the  Nantucket  colony  the  conditions  were  quite 
different.  To  quote  from  Macy,18  the  historian  of  the 
island,  the  first  whaling  expedition  in  Nantucket  "was 
undertaken  by  some  of  the  original  purchasers  of  the 
island;  the  circumstances  of  which  are  handed  down 
by  tradition,  and  are  as  follows:  A  whale  of  the  kind 
called  'scragg'  came  into  the  harbor  and  continued  there 
three  days.  This  excited  the  curiosity  of  the  people  and 
led  them  to  devise  measures  to  prevent  his  return  out 
of  the  harbor.  They '  accordingly  invented  and  caused 
to  be  wrought  for  them  a  harpoon  with  which  they 
attacked  and  killed  the  whale.  This  first  success 
encouraged  them  to  undertake  whaling  as  a  permanent 
business,  whales  being  at  that  time  numerous  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  shores." 

The  date  of  this  first  venture  is  not  known,. but  by 
1672  the  inhabitants  of  the  island  regarded  whaling  as 
sufficiently  important  to  warrant  the  making  of  a  pro- 
posal to  one  James  Loper  to  carry  on  a  regular  whaling 
business  from  that  place..  As  an  inducement  to  carry 
on  whaling  in  all  seasons  for  two  years  he  was  to  receive 
ten  acres  of  land,  enough  common  pasturage  for  three 
cows,  twenty  sheep,  one  horse,  and  all  the  wood  and 
water  he  needed  for  his  use.  At  the  same  time  a  similar 
offer  was  made  to  a  cooper  if  he  would  ply  his  trade  in 
the  island.  It  is  said  that  the  latter  accepted  the  pro- 
posal while  the  former  did  not,  hence  the  benefit  to  the 
whale  fishery  was  not  marked.19 

17  Starbuck.  p.  18. 

18  Macy :   History  of  Nantucket,  p.  28. 

19  Macy.  p.  42. 


The  Rise  of  American  W haling.  25 

From  that  time  until  1690  there  is  a  lapse  in  the 
history  of  Nantucket  whaling.  There  is  a  tradition 
among  the  islanders,  says  Macy,20  that  in  1690  several 
persons  were  standing  on  a  hill  watching  the  whalers 
off  shore ;  one  of  the  islanders,  of  prophetic  soul,  pointed 
to  the  sea,  saying  "There  is  a  green  pasture,  where  our 
children's  grand-children  will  go  for  bread."  However 
true  the  tradition,  the  content  of  the  supposed  prophecy 
was  fully  realized  in  later  years. 

In  the  same  year  (1690)  the  islanders  found  "that  the 
people  of  Cape  Cod  had  made  greater  proficiency  in  the 
art  of  whale  catching,"  and  sending  thither,  they  .  .  . 
"employed  one  Ichabod  Paddock  to  remove  to  the  island 
and  instruct  them  in  the  best  method  of  killing  whales 
and  obtaining  the  oil."21  As  Starbuck  says,22  "judging 
from  subsequent  events  he  must  have  proved  a  good 
teacher  and  they  most  apt  pupils." 

Thus,  before  the  end  of  the  century  in  which  American 
colonization  began,  whaling  was  established  as  a  regular 
business,  if  still  on  a  small  scale,  in  the  different  Massa- 
chusetts colonies,  especially  from  Cape  Cod;  from  the 
towns  at  the  eastern  end  of  Long  Island,  and  from 
Nantucket.  At  all  these  places  the  fishery  had  gone 
through  the  same  stages  of  first  taking  only  whales 
ashore,  and  later  developing  into  a  regular  practice  ol 
boat  whaling.  True  it  is  that  the  industry  was  still  very 
much  in  its  infancy,  but  it  is  interesting  to  note  that 
almost  every  locality  subsequently  to  become  important 
in  its  whaling  interests  had  begun  the  enterprise  Kfore 
1700.  The  notable  exceptions  were  New  Bedford, 
Mass.,  and  New  London,  Conn. 

With  the  opening  years  of  the  eighteenth  century 
Nantuek.'t  rapidly  came  to  be  the  foremost  whaling 
port.     The  very  situation   and   character  of  the   island 

10  Macy,  i'.  43- 
"  Macy,  ]>.  42. 
n  Starbuck,  p.  17. 


26  A  History  of  the  American  Wliale  Fishery. 

seemed  to  favor,  even  to  necessitate,  the  following  of 
fishing  pursuits.  The  island  was  comparatively  sterile, 
making  it  difficult  to  gain  a  livelihood  from  tilling  the 
soil,  and  being  small  in  area,  less  than  fifty  square  miles, 
meant  a  constant  struggle  with  nature.  It  was  but 
natural  therefore,  for  a  large  proportion  of  the  inhabi- 
tants to  turn  to  the  sea  for  their  living,  and  whaling  was 
the  most  attractive  and  profitable  pursuit.  Whales  were 
so  plentiful  about  the  shores  that  at  first  the  islanders 
secured  all  the  oil  they  desired  without  venturing  out  of 
sight  of  land. 

"The  south  side  of  the  island,"  says  Macy,2'  "was 
divided  into  four  equal  parts,  and  each  part  was  assigned 
to  a  company  of  six,  which,  though  thus  separated, 
carried  on  their  business  in  common.  In  the  middle 
of  this  distance  (about  three  and  one-half  miles  to  each 
division)  they  erected  a  mast"  from  which  a  lookout 
kept  constant  watch  for  whales  at  sea.  As  soon  as  a 
whale  was  seen  boats  were  sent  out  in  pursuit,  the  whale 
when  captured,  being  towed  ashore  where  the  blubber 
was  tried  out  at  the  works  on  the  beach.  Many  Indians 
were  employed  in  these  boat-whaling  operations,  each 
crew  being  composed  partly  of  aborigines.  It  was  not 
long  before  the  Nantucket  people  were  the  most  expert 
whalemen  in  the  country,  as  a  logical  outcome  of  so 
ardently  following  this  one  pursuit. 

The  year  171 2  was  epoch  making  in  the  history  of 
whaling.  In  that  year  a  Nantucket  whaleman,  named 
Christopher  Hussey,  while  cruising  along  the  coast,  was 
blown  out  to  sea  by  a  strong  northerly  wind.  In  the 
course  of  his  involuntary  voyage  he  came  across  a  number 
of  sperm  whales,  and  killing  one,  brought  it  home  with 
him,24  the  first  sperm  whale  known  to  have  been  taken 
by  American  whalers.  As  early  as  1688,  however,  a 
petition  had  been  made  to  the   Governor  of  New  York 

M  Macy,  p.  44. 
14  Macy,  p.  42. 


The  Rise  of  American  Whaling.  27 

asking  for  permission  to  carry  on  "a  fishing  Design  about 
the  Bmanus  Islands  and  Cap  florida,  for  sperma 
Coeti  whales  and  Racks."25  But  there  is  no  record  to 
show  that  the  venture  was  ever  carried  out. 

Hussey's  exploit,  however,  worked  a  radical  change 
in  whaling  methods.  Up  to  that  time  whaling,  wherever 
it  was  followed  in  the  colonies,  had  been  confined  to  the 
taking  of  drift  whales  and  later  the  so-called  shore  or 
boat  whaling,  the  operations  being  carried  on  entirely 
within  sight  of  land.  Now  the  Nantucket  people  began 
immediately  to  fit  vessels,  usually  sloops,  of  about 
thirty  tons,  to  whale  out  in  the  "deep"  as  it  was  called, 
to  distinguish  it  from  shore  whaling.  The  vessels  were 
fitted  for  cruises  of  about  six  weeks,  the  blubber  of  the 
whales  taken  being  stored  in  hogsheads  and  brought 
back  to  the  try  works  on  shore  where  the  oil  was  ex- 
tracted.28 By  1 71 5  Nantucket  had  six  sloops  engaged 
in  this  new  fishery,  and  by  1730  there  were  twenty-five 
vessels  of  from  thirty  to  fifty  tons  employed  in  deep-sea 
whaling. 

The  shore  fishery  was  still  carried  on  even  as  late  as 
1760, 27  though  Macy  seems  to  imply  that  it  reached  its 
greatest  importance  about  1726.  But  the  inevitable 
decrease  in  the  number  of  whales  near  land  soon  became 
apparent.  The  change  of  whaling  from  a  shore  to  a 
sea  industry  had  already  begun,  the  fitting  of  larger  and 
larger  vessels  and  the  extension  of  voyages  was  only  a 
question  of  added  years.  Perhaps  of  greatest  impor- 
tance, Hussey's  adventure  introduced  sperm  oil,  which 
in  its  superiority  over  other  oils  was  for  many  decades 
to  be  the  most  important  and  most  valuable  product  of 
the  whale  fishery,  while  the  pursuit  of  sperm  whales  was 
to   be   one   of  the   most   powerful  factors   inducing  the 

"  Quoted  by  Starbuck,  p.  15,  from  Mass.  Col.  Mss.,  Usurpation,  VI, 
p.  126. 

29  Macy,  p.  46. 
17  Macy,  p.  44. 


28  . 1  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

development  of  the  business.  Whaling  was  already  on 
the  path  which  a  little  over  a  century  later  was  to  lead 
it  through  many  a  hard  struggle  to  its  world-wide  promi- 
nence as  an  American  industry. 

As  the  large  vessels  were  added  to  the  fleet,  the  voy- 
ages were  increased  and  new  regions  were  visited.  During 
the  first  few  years  of  deep-sea  whaling  it  was  the  general 
practice  for  the  vessels  to  go  to  the  "southward,"  as  it 
was  called,  where  they  cruised  until  July.  Then  they 
returned,  refitted,  and  went  to  the  eastward  of  the 
Grand  Banks  to  finish  the  season.28  Davis  Straits  were 
visited  by  the  whalemen  as  early  as  1732,29  and  in  1737 
the  "Boston  News  Letter"  records  the  entrances  and 
clearances  of  several  vessels  from  that  locality.  Accord- 
ing to  Macy,80  the  Nantucket  whalers  extended  their 
cruises  as  follows:  Coast  of  Guinea,  1763;  Western 
Islands,  1765;  coast  of  Brazil,  1774.  Local  tradition 
says  that  the  first  Nantucket  whaler  to  "cross  the  line" 
arrived  home  on  the  day  of  the  Battle  of  Lexington  and 
Concord. 

"Between  the  years  1770  and  1775,"  says  Macy,31  in 
writing  of  Nantucket  whaling,  "the  whaling  business 
increased  to  an  extent  hitherto  unparalleled.  In  1770 
there  were  a  little  more  than  100  vessels  engaged,  and  in 
1775  the  number  exceeded  150,  some  of  them  large  brigs." 
Nantucket  at  the  opening  of  the  Revolution  was  enjoying 
the  full  tide  of  success  in  her  great  whaling  industry. 
The  Nantucket  whaling  interests  were  by  far  the  most 
important  in  the  colonies.  Nantucket  led  the  way  in 
all  things  pertaining  to  whaling,  and  the  whalers  from 
other  ports  followed  its  example.  The  whaling  success 
had  turned  the  sterile  island  into  a  flourishing,  pros- 
perous  community,   when   the   war   came   and   all  was 

28  Macy,  p.  50. 

39  Starl»uck,  p.  24.  note. 

30  Macy,  p.  54. 

51  Macy,  p.  233. 


The  Rise  of  American  Whaling.  29 

changed.  But  before  discussing  the  effects  of  the  war, 
it  is  necessary  to  consider  the  condition  of  some  of  the 
other  principal  ports. 

The  Long  Island  fishery,  which  had  been  among  the 
most  prominent  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
receives  but  meager  mention  in  the  records  during  the 
eighteenth  century.  In  the  first  decade  or  two  there  are 
occasional  orders  relative  to  whales  and  whaling,32  but 
little  to  indicate  that  the  business  was  growing  to  much 
extent.  During  most  of  these  early  years,  just  as  in 
the  century  before,  whaling  was  a  constant  source  of 
conflict  between  the  whalemen  and  the  colonial  author- 
ities. Thus  in  171 1  the  latter  issued  a  writ  to  the  sheriffs 
directing  them  to  seize  all  whales.  In  later  years, 
Southampton,  Easthampton  and  the  other  early  whaling 
towns  seem  to  have  been  supplanted  by  the  younger 
port,  Sag  Harbor,33  but  even  as  late  as  1760  only  three 
sloops  were  fitted  from  that  port.  Nantucket  had  far 
outstripped  its  early  rival. 

On  Cape  Cod  the  fishery  was  more  progressive.  The 
"Boston  News  Letter,"34  in  1727,  says,  "We  hear  from 
the  towns  on  the  Cape  that  the  whale  fishery  among 
them  has  failed  much  this  winter,  as  it  has  for  several 
winters  past,  but  having  found  out  the  way  of  going  to 
sea  upon  that  business,  and  having  had  much  success  in 
it,  they  are  now  fitting  out  several  vessels  to  sail  . 
this  spring,  more  than  have  ever  been  sent  out  from 
among  them."  From  this  item  it  seems  safe  to  conclude 
that  the  people  of  Cape  Cod  had  followed  the  example 
of  the  Nantucket  whalers,  and  that  at  least  as  early  as 
1726  the  original  shore  whaling  had  been  supplemented 
by  deep-sea  whaling. 

Ten   years   later   the    same    authority   states"   that    a 

32  Starbuck,  p.  26  ff. 

33  Starbuck,  p.  43. 

54  Mar.  20,  1727.  quoted  by  Starbuck,  p.  31. 

35  "Boston  News  Letter,"  Apr.  21,  1737,  quoted  by  Starbuck, 
note,  p.  32. 


30  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

dozen  vessels,  some  of  them  of  a  hundred  tons  burden, 
were  fitting  that  spring  at  Provide etown  for  the  Davis 
Straits  fishery.  "So  many  men  are  going  on  these 
voyages,"  says  the  account,  "that  not  more  than  twelve 
or  fourteen  men  will  be  left  at  home."  During  the  next 
two  or  three  years  the  whaling  seasons  were  poor,  and 
many  of  the  people  on  the  Cape  were  in  straitened  cir- 
cumstances." After  1 741  the  whaling  voyages  were 
interfered  with  by  the  depredations  of  French  and 
Spanish  privateers,  and  for  some  years  the  voyages  to 
distant  grounds  seem  to  have  been  abandoned,  as  there 
were  no  reports  of  arrivals  from  or  departures  for  the 
Davis  Straits  fishery.37 

The  fishery  seems  to  have  survived  in  Cape  Cod  towns, 
however,  and  to  have  been  in  a  fairly  prosperous  state 
at  the  opening  of  the  Revolution,  for  in  1775  there  were 
thirty-six  vessels  engaged  in  whaling  from  the  towns  of 
Wellfleet,  Barnstable  and  Falmouth.  The  vessels  were 
from  75  to  100  tons  burden  and  were  engaged  mainly  in 
the  northern  fishery. 

As  regards  the  whaling  operations  from  towns  about 
Boston,  the  facts  are  very  meager  during  the  years  pre- 
ceding the  Revolution.  Before  the  opening  of  the  cen- 
tury the  business  had  been  carried  on  in  a  small  way  at 
Salem.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  it  was  continued 
at  that  place  and  perhaps  at  other  places  along  the 
coast.  But  just  where  or  to  what  extent  it  is  impossible 
to  tell.  Whether  Boston  was  at  this  time  an  actual 
participant  in  whaling  is  hard  to  determine,  since  it  is 
known  that  vessels  from  the  whole  colony  were  accus- 
tomed to  make  that  place  their  port  of  entry  and  clear- 
ance. In  1775  Boston  was  credited  with  twenty  vessels, 
and  Lynn  with  two,  averaging  100  tons  burden,  but  how 
many  of  those  registered  from  Boston  were  actually 
Boston  vessels  no  one  knows. 

"  Starbuck,  p.  33. 
17  Starbuck,  p.  38. 


The  Rise  of  American  Whaling.  31 

The  Rhode  Island  colonists  had  been  carrying  on  a 
whale  fishery  in  a  small  way  within  the  colony,  probably 
as  a  shore  or  boat  fishery,  for  a  number  of  years  previous 
to  1 73 1,58  when  the  colonial  assembly  passed  an  act 
providing  a  bounty  of  five  shillings  a  barrel  for  oil  and 
a  penny  a  pound  for  bone.59  Starbuck,  however,  states 
that  deep-sea  whaling  was  carried  on  from  Rhode  Island 
ports  as  early  as  1723.40  To  support  his  statement  he 
quotes  the  "Boston  News  Letter"  of  that  year,  which 
records  the  arrival  of  a  whaling  vessel  at  Newport  "with 
the  largest  sperm  whale  ever  seen  up  to  that  time  in 
that  region." 

The  reports  of  Rhode  Island  whaling  during  later 
years  are  as  unsatisfactory  as  the  question  about  when 
it  really  began.  Occasional  records  are  to  be  found  of 
the  arrivals  of  whaling  vessels,"  and  during  some  years 
quite  a  thriving  business  seems  to  have  been  done. 
Before  the  war  with  England  began,  Newport,  Provi- 
dence, Warren  and  Tiverton,  together  with  Swanzey, 
across  the  line  in  Massachusetts,  made  Narragansett  Bay 
an  active  whaling  locality. 

In  addition  to  the  places  already  mentioned,  New- 
London,  Conn.,  entered  the  list  toward  the  middle  of 
the  century.  At  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  the  stimulus 
of  whaling  success  was  felt,  and  in  1 751 ,  a  sloop  was 
fitted  out  for  whaling  along  the  southern  coast.  The 
venture  was  successful,  but  there  is  no  record  to  show 
how  long  the  business  was  followed  at  that  place."  At 
Martha's  Vineyard  deep-sea  whaling  appears  to  have 
begun  about  1738,  when  a  Nantucket  whaleman  n  mov<  d 
there  and  began  the  fishery  with  his  sloop.  But  for 
some  reason  the  fishery  from  the  Vineyard  never  thrived 

"  Arnold :  "History  of  Rhode  Island,"  II,  p.  110. 

"  Arnold,  p.  103. 

46  Starbuck,  note,  p.  35. 

41  Starbuck,  p.  43. 

a  loc.  tit. 


32  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

as  it  did  from  the  sister  island  of  Nantucket,  perhaps 
because  the  former,  being  larger  and  more  fertile,  did  not 
force  the  inhabitants  to  look  to  the  sea  for  a  livelihood. 
In  1775,  when  Nantucket  had  a  fleet  of  150  vessels, 
aggregating  15,000  tons,  Martha's  Vineyard  had  but 
twelve  vessels  with  a  total  burden  of  720  tons.0 

New  Bedford  (then  Dartmouth)  was  almost  the  last 
place  to  appear  as  a  whaling  port  before  the  outbreak 
of  the  Revolution.  The  exact  date  of  its  beginning  is 
not  known,  though  it  was  probably  just  prior  to  1760. 
In  that  year,  says  Starbuck,44  in  the  deed  of  a  tract  of 
land  located  within  the  present  town  of  Fairhaven  there 
was  a  clause  reading,  "always  excepting  and  reserv- 
ing .  .  .  that  part  of  the  same  where  the  Try  house 
and  Oyl  shed  now  stands."  How  old  these  buildings  were 
is  not  known.  In  the  history  of  New  Bedford,45  Joseph 
Russell,  the  founder  of  the  town,  is  also  said  to  have  been 
the  pioneer  in  the  whale  fishery  from  that  place.  "It  is 
well  authenticated,"  says  the  account,  "that  Joseph  Rus- 
sell had  pursued  the  business  as  early  as  1755."  The  town 
was  then  known  as  Dartmouth,  and  from  just  what  part 
of  it  these  vessels  were  fitted  is  uncertain.  In  1755  the 
land  now  covered  by  the  city  of  New  Bedford  was  still 
forest.  Not  a  single  house  marked  the  place  where  less 
than  a  century  later  was  destined  to  stand  the  greatest 
whaling  port  the  world  has  ever  known,  the  city  which, 
in  the  full  glory  of  whaling  prosperity,  would  send  out 
more  vessels  than  all  other  American  ports  combined. 

In  1765  four  sloops  from  New  Bedford  were  engaged 
in  the  whale  fishery,46  and  ten  years  later  the  town  of 
Dartmouth  was  credited  with  eighty  vessels  with  a 
tonnage  of  6,500  tons,47  thus  bringing  this  locality,  in  the 

43  Starbuck,  p.  41 


44  Starbuck,  p.  43. 

45  Ricketson:  History  of  New  Bedford,  p.  5$ 
48  Starbuck,  p.  4.3. 

47  Starbuck,  p.  57,  note. 


The  Rise  of  American  Whaling.  33 

space  of  two  decades,  into  a  rank  second  only  to  Nan- 
tucket. 

The  actual  condition  of  the  whale  fishery  during  these 
years  of  growth  and  expansion  cannot  be  traced  with 
any  continuity  from  year  to  year,  because  of  the  absence 
of  records.  It  is  worth  while  to  note,  however,  certain 
influences  which  were  at  work,  affecting  the  fishery  in 
general,  or  in  particular  localities. 

As  early  as  1741  the  participation  of  England  in  the 
war  of  the  Austrian  Succession  gave  France  and  Spain 
the  long  desired  opportunity  to  prey  upon  English  com- 
merce, and  the  colonial  interests  came  in  for  their  pro- 
portion of  loss.  It  was  just  at  this  time,  too,  that  the 
practice  of  deep-sea  whaling  was  becoming  fairly  well 
established.  The  presence  of  French  and  Spanish 
privateers  hovering  near  the  coast,  however,  hindered 
the  development  of  this  new  phase  of  the  industry, 
especially  in  the  Davis  Straits  region.  As  Starbuck  say-,4-1 
"the  period  from  1750  to  1784  was  the  most  eventful 
era  to  the  whale  fishery  that  it  ever  passed  through. 
For  a  large  proportion  of  the  time  the  business  was 
carried  on  under  imminent  risk  of  capture,  first  by  the 
Spanish  and  French  and  after  by  the  English."  The 
Davis  Straits  fishery  was  eventually  quite  abandoned, 
the  vessels  frequenting  the  grounds  in  the  vicinity  of  th 
Western  Islands  were  constantly  liable  to  losses  from 
capture,  and  most  of  the  operations  were  confined  to 
the  Grand  Banks,  along  the  Gulf  Stream  and  about  the 
Bahamas.49 

But  in  spite  of  these  unfavorable  conditions  the  state 
of  the  fishery  was  such  that  Hutchison  could  say  of  this 
period,30  "the  increase  in  the  consumption  of  oil     . 
in  Europe  has  been  no  small  encouragement  to  our  whale 
fishery.     The  flourishing  state  of  the  island  of  Nantucket 

48  Starbuck,  p.  36. 

49  Starbuck.  ;>    56. 

80  Hutchison  :  History  of  Mass.,  Ill,  p.  400. 


34  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

must  be  attributed  to  it."  In  addition  to  the  advan- 
tage of  usually  profitable  markets,  the  colonial  whalemen 
could  benefit  from  a  royal  bounty  provided  for  by  an 
act  of  Parliament  in  1748.  The  bounty  amounted  to 
twenty  shillings  per  ton,  but  in  order  to  receive  it  the 
vessels  must  be  built  and  fitted  in  the  colonies  and  must 
remain  in  Davis  Straits  or  vicinity  from  May  until  August, 
unless  they  met  with  accident  or  secured  a  full  cargo 
before  that  date.51  It  does  not  appear,  however,  that 
the  bounty  had  any  marked  effect  on  the  colonial  in- 
dustry either  in  increasing  the  tonnage  employed  or  in 
adding  to  the  Davis  Straits  fleet. 

In  1755  the  colonial  whalemen  were  greatly  restricted 
by  an  embargo  laid  on  the  "Banks"  fishermen,  during 
the  preparations  for  the  expedition  against  Nova  Scotia, 
though,  as  Starbuck  says,52  "the  risk  of  capture  by  French 
drivateers  was  so  great  that  it  of  itself  must  have  quite 
effectively  embargoed  many  of  them."  The  embargo 
was  continued  in  1757  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  in  the 
previous  year  the  colonists  had  been  subject  to  a  duty 
for  the  support  of  a  frigate  to  defend  the  Banks  fishery. 

This  same  year,  1757,  however,  the  people  of  Nan- 
tucket were  given  permission  to  pursue  their  whaling 
voyages,  as  the  result  of  a  petition  to  the  Massachusetts 
general  court.  One  of  the  main  reasons  for  granting 
their  request  was  that  "their  livelihood  entirely  depends 
on  the  whale  fishery."53 

When  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Straits  of  Belle 
Isle  were  opened  to  the  colonial  fishermen  in  1761,  the 
whalemen  very  quickly  took  advantage  of  the  oppor- 
tunity to  share  in  the  wealth  of  that  fishery.  But  their 
hopes  of  good  profits  were  not  realized,  for  in  the  same 
year  Parliament  not  only  levied  a  duty  on  imports  of 
whale  products  from  the  colonies,   but  also  prohibited 

51  Starbuck,  p.  37. 
5:  Starbuck,  p.  38. 
M  Starbuck,  p.  39. 


The  Rise  of  American  Whaling.  35 

their  exportation  to  any  other  market.  At  the  same 
time  the  residents  of  Great  Britain  were  benefiting  from 
a  bounty  in  which  the  colonists  were  not  allowed  to 
share.54  These  measures  were  evidently  a  part  of  Eng- 
land's policy  in  their  rivalry  with  the  Dutch  for  supremacy 
in  the  whale  fishery.  But  their  efforts  were  in  vain. 
The  American  fishery  was  destined,  in  the  face  of  every 
difficulty,  to  far  outrival  either  the  English  or  the  Dutch 
interests. 

One  of  the  best  indications  of  the  state  of  the  colonial 
whale  fishery  at  that  time  is  found  in  the  statements  of  a 
petition  to  Parliament  asking  for  the  abolition  of  the 
import  duty  on  whale  products  from  the  colonies.  It 
says  "in  the  year  1761  the  province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  fitted  out  from  Boston  and  other  ports  ten  vessels 
of  from  seventy  to  ninety  tons  burden  for  this  purpose. 
That  the  success  of  these  was  such  as  to  encourage  the 
sending  out  of  fifty  vessels  in  the  year  1762  for  the  same 
trade.  That  in  the  year  1763  more  than  eighty  vessels 
were  employed  in  the  same  manner."55  This  reference 
to  the  number  of  vessels  employed  must  refer  solely  to 
the  towns  in  the  original  Massachusetts  Bay  and  Ply- 
mouth colony,  for  in  1762  Nantucket  alone  had  seventy- 
eight  vessels  engaged  in  whaling.56 

The  colonial  whalers  who  tried  to  take  advantage  of 
the  newly  opened  St.  Lawrence  and  Belle  Isle  fisheries, 
were  subject  to  many  irksome  restrictions,  such  as  to 
remove  all  waste  at  least  three  leagues  from  shore,  not 
to  winter  on  the  coast  and  not  to  have  any  intercourse 
with  the  French.  A  few  whalemen  visited  these  grounds 
in  spite  of  the  restrictions,  but  even  though  they  offered 
convenient  and  profitable  fisheries,  the  majority  of  the 
fleet  cruised  along  the  gulf  stream  and  other  regions 
farther  south. 

**  Starbuck.  p.  39. 

"  Quoted  by  Starbuck,  p.  40. 

18  Macy,  p.  58. 


36  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

In  1767  the  report  was  circulated  in  the  colonies  that 
the  irksome  restrictions  on  whaling  were  to  be  removed 
entirely.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1768,  therefore,  there 
was  increased  activity  in  the  whaling  fleet,  and  vessels 
again  visited  Davis  Straits.  During  the  year  Nan- 
tucket sent  out  eighty  vessels  averaging  seventy-five 
tons  burden  and  "probably  as  many  more  from  Cape 
Cod,  Dartmouth,  Boston,  Providence,  Newport,  Warren, 
etc.,  most  of  them  to  the  northern  fishery."57  This  year 
marked  the  beginning  of  the  unprecedented  prosperity 
that  whaling  interests  enjoyed  during  the  years  imme- 
diately previous  to  the  Revolution. 

Macy,  in  writing  of  this  period  in  Nantucket,  says:58 
"The  employment  of  so  great  and  such  an  increasing 
capital  may  lead  our  readers  to  suppose  that  a  corre- 
sponding profit  was  realized,  but  a  careful  examination 
of  the  circumstances  under  which  the  business  was 
carried  on  will  show  the  fallacy  of  such  a  conclusion. 
Many  branches  of  labor  were  conducted  by  those  who 
were  immediately  interested  in  the  voyages.  The 
young  men,  with  few  exceptions,  were  brought  up  to 
some  trade  necessary  to  the  business.  The  ropemaker, 
the  cooper,  the  blacksmith,  the  carpenter,  in  fine,  the 
workmen  were  either  the  shipowners  or  their  house- 
holds; so  were  often  the  officers  and  men  who  navigated 
the  vessels  and  killed  the  whales.  While  a  ship  was  at 
sea,  the  owners  at  home  were  busily  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  casks,  iron  work,  cordage,  blocks  and 
other  articles  for  the  succeeding  voyage.  Thus  the 
profits  of  the  labor  were  enjoyed  by  those  interested  in 
the  fishery,  and  voyages  were  rendered  advantageous, 
even  when  the  oil  obtained  was  barely  sufficient  to  pay 
for  the  outfits,  estimating  the  labor  as  part  thereof.  This 
mode  of  conducting  the  business  was  universal    .    . 

57  Starbuck,  p.  50. 

58  Macy,  p.  233. 


The  Rise  of  American  Whaling.  37 

The  colonial  whale  fishery  in  1774,  says  Starbuck,59 
"must  have  been  in  the  full  tide  of  success.  There  were 
probably  fitted  out  annually  at  this  time  no  less  than 
360  vessels  of  various  kinds,  with  an  aggregate  burden 
of  33,000  tons."  Of  these  at  least  300  sail  belonged  to 
Massachusetts  ports,  according  to  the  figures  given  in 
Jefferson's  report.60  The  rest  were  distributed  among 
the  different  ports  in  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut  and 
New  York.  The  great  superiority  of  Massachusetts 
towns  in  owning  five-sixths  of  the  total  fleet  is  an  inter- 
esting parallel  to  similar  conditions  three-quarters  of  a 
century  later. 

Before  the  war  there  was  thrift  and  happiness  every- 
where in  the  American  whaling  world,  but  the  approach- 
ing hostilities  very  early  cast  a  shadow  over  the  pros- 
perity of  the  fisheries  in  general.  They  were  the  first 
industry  to  feel  the  effects  of  the  imminent  war,  for  one 
of  the  first  steps  taken  by  England  to  repress  the  colonies 
was  directed  against  the  fishing  interests  of  New  England. 
Massachusetts  was  regarded  as  the  hotbed  of  the  revolu- 
tionary spirit,  and  that  colony  was  also  the  center  of 
the  fishing  industries.  Hence,  in  1775,  "to  starve  New 
England,"  Parliament  passed  the  famous  act  restricting 
colonial  trade  to  British  ports,  and  placing  an  embargo 
on  fishing  on  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland  or  on  any  other 
part  of  the  North  American  coast. 

Macy,  quoting  from  a  protest  to  Parliament  against 
the  passage  of  this  bill,  gives  an  excellent  picture  of  the 
conditions  in  Nantucket  at  that  time  :81 

"The  case  of  the  inhabitants  of  Nantucket  was  par- 
ticularly hard.  This  extraordinary  people,  amounting  to 
between  5,000  and  6,000  in  number,  nine-tenths  of  whom 
are  Quakers,  inhabit  a  barren  island  fifteen  miles  long  by 
three  broad,  the  products  of  which  were  scarcely  capable 

w  Starbuck,  p.  57. 

10  See  Table  IX.  in  Appendix  I. 

•'  Macy,  p.  8a, 


38  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

of  maintaining  twenty  families.  From  the  only  harbor 
which  this  sterile  island  contains,  without  natural  pro- 
ducts of  any  sort,  the  inhabitants,  by  an  astonishing 
industry,  keep  an  140  vessels  in  constant  employment. 
Of  these,  eight  were  employed  in  the  importation  of 
provisions  for  the  island  and  the  rest  in  the  whale 
fishery."  It  was  this  same  measure  which  inspired 
Burke  to  his  famous  speech  on  "Conciliation,"  and  one  of 
his  most  eloquent  passages  is  where  he  refers  to  the 
daring  exploits  of  the  American  whalemen. 

The  beginning  of  actual  hostilities  effectually  put  a 
stop  to  the  whale  fishery,  except  from  Nantucket.  Early 
in  the  war  a  few  vessels  were  sent  out  from  other  ports, 
but  the  risks  were  so  great  that  the  business  was  quickly 
abandoned.  With  Nantucket,  however,  it  was  a  case 
of  necessity  to  keep  up  their  whaling  operations.  The 
whale  fishery  was  practically  the  only  business  available 
for  them,  for  their  constant  following  of  this  single  pur- 
suit had  kept  them  comparatively  ignorant  of  any  other 
way  of  gaining  a  living.62  There  were  no  other  resources ; 
the  business  had  to  be  carried  on  or  the  island  be  depopu- 
lated; "starvation  or  removal  were  the  only  alternatives 
of  inaction."  Some  of  the  people  did  remove  to  New 
York,  eventually  establishing  the  whale  fishery  there, 
but  most  of  them  preferred  to  remain  even  in  the  face 
of  great  hardships. 

The  history  of  whaling  during  the  Revolution  is  merely 
a  chronicle  of  a  constant  struggle  against  adverse  con- 
ditions by  the  Nantucket  islanders.  Early  in  the  war 
British  ships  made  several  forays  along  the  New  England 
coast,  capturing  and  burning  vessels  and  cargoes,  and 
destroying  other  property  at  Nantucket,  Martha's  Vine- 
yard, and  Dartmouth.  The  question  at  Nantucket  was 
not  so  much  to  make  whaling  profitable  as  it  was  to 
carry  on  the  business  at  all  in  the  limited  way  to  which 

62  Starbuck,  p.  72. 


The  Rise  of  American  Whaling.  39 

they  were  restricted  by  the  loss  of  their  vessels.  The 
story  of  Nantucket  during  the  Revolution,  as  told  by 
Macy,  carries  a  powerful  moral  in  the  almost  complete 
and  helpless  stagnation  in  a  place  where  prosperity 
depended  entirely  on  the  success  of  a  single  industry. 

So  great  were  the  hardships,  and  so  pressing  was  the 
need  for  whaling,  as  the  only  practicable  means  of 
gaining  a  livelihood,  that  in  1781  the  British  admiral 
at  New  York  humanely  granted  the  islanders  permission 
to  employ  twenty -four  vessels  unmolested  by  the  Eng- 
lish cruisers.  Says  Macy,  "This  privilege  seemed  to 
give  new  life  to  the  people.  It  produced  a  considerable 
movement  in  business,  but  the  resources  of  the  island 
had  been  so  diminished,  that  but  a  small  number  of 
vessels  could  take  the  benefit  of  these  permits.  Those 
who  had  vessels  and  were  possessed  of  the  means,  fitted 
them  out  on  short  voyages,  and  had  there  been  no 
hindrance  it  is  probable  that  they  would  have  done 
well ;  for  the  whales,  having  been  unmolested  for  several 
years,  had  become  numerous  and  were  pretty  easily 
caught."63  But  the  vessels  were  interfered  with  by 
American  privateers  and  several  of  them  were  taken 
and  carried  to  port.  In  every  case,  however,  they 
were  quickly  liberated  when  it  was  found  that  they  had 
not  been  engaged  in  illicit  trade.  Again,  in  1783,  the 
Continental  Congress  granted  permits  for  thirty-five 
vessels  to  engage  in  whaling,84  but  there  was  hardly 
time  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  before  the 
treaty  was  signed  and  the  news  of  peace  arrived  in 
this  country. 

Just  as  the  fisheries  had  been  an  important  issue  in  the 
days  before  hostilities  began,  so  in  the  making  of  peace 
the  settlement  of  the  fisheries  question  was  one  of  the 
main  causes  of  contention.  The  Americans  demanded 
the  same  freedom  in  fishing  rights  as  had  been  enjoyed 

,s  Macy,  p.  1 20. 
"Starbuck,  p.  76. 


40  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

before  the  war.  Great  Britain  vainly  tried  to  evade 
this  provision  of  the  treaty,  but  was  finally  obliged 
to  yield. 

The  end  of  the  war  found  the  whaling  business  in  a 
nearly  hopeless  condition.  Except  for  such  of  the 
interest  as  had  been  kept  up  at  Nantucket,  the  business 
was  almost  totally  ruined  and  had  to  be  built  up  anew. 
And  at  Nantucket  not  much  had  been  saved.  When  the 
war  began,  the  island  had  a  little  over  150  vessels.  In 
1784  only  two  or  three  old  hulks  remained.65  Of  the 
rest  134  had  been  captured  or  destroyed  by  the  English 
and  fifteen  more  had  been  lost  by  shipwreck.  As  it  was 
at  Nantucket,  so  it  was  in  a  way  with  all  the  whaling 
ports.  The  industry  which  eight  years  before  had  been 
enjoying  the  highest  tide  of  its  prosperity  was  now  so 
completely  destroyed  that  hardly  a  vestige  remained. 
At  the  same  time  an  almost  total  suspension  of  imports 
of  whaling  products  had  led  to  the  widespread  use  of 
substitutes — one  of  the  hardest  factors  with  which  the 
revived  industry  would  have  to  contend  in  re-establish- 
ing the  former  demand  and  general  consumption. 

But  whaling  was  destined  to  rise  again,  though  its 
existence  for  over  two  decades  was  to  be  a  precarious 
one,  filled  with  the  ups  and  downs  of  unsettled  condi- 
tions. The  several  years  of  almost  complete  immunity 
from  capture  had  resulted  in  a  repopulation  of  the 
whaling  grounds. 

The  whales  themselves  were  less  shy  and  hence  more 
readily  killed.  With  characteristic  American  energy 
the  whalemen  set  to  work  to  make  up  for  their  losses 
during  the  war ;  for  the  news  of  peace  had  hardly  arrived 
before  vessels  wrere  being  fitted  anew  for  whaling  voy- 
ages. Nantucket  was  among  the  first  to  resume  whaling, 
the  people  who  had  any  capital  left  resuming  the  business 
with  as  many  vessels  as  they  could  secure.  New  London 
Sag  Harbor,  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  Boston,  Hingham,  Welfleet, 

05  Macy,  p.  124. 


The  Rise  of  American  Whaling.  41 

Braintree,  Plymouth  and  Bristol  were  soon  added  to 
the  list  of  whaling  ports  sending  out  one  or  more  vessels." 

The  whale  products  commanded  good  prices  during 
the  early  years  after  the  war,  and  for  a  time  the  business 
gave  promise  of  good  profits.  But  the  boom  was  short 
lived.  For  many  years  sperm  oil  had  been  the  most 
valuable  product  of  the  fishery.  The  chief  market  for 
sperm  oil,  however — -the  British  market — had  been 
practically  closed  to  American  shipments  by  an  alien 
duty  of  ;£i8  per  ton.  Oil  which  was  easily  worth  £$0 
before  the  war  now  brought  scarcely  ^17,  while  to  give 
a  reasonable  profit,  over  expenses,  £25  was  necessary." 
The  excessive  prices  on  oil  and  bone  fell  rapidly.  A  num- 
ber of  the  ports  which  had  entered  the  field  so  promptly 
withdrew  their  vessels.  Thjs  Hingham,  Newburyport, 
Braintree,  Plymouth,  Well  fleet,  Mass.,  and  Providence, 
and  Bristol,  R.  I.,  all  sent  out  one  or  more  vessels  in 
1 784-1 785,  but  none  of  them  (except  Wellfleet  in  1786) 
sent  any  more  until  several  years  later.68 

The  condition  of  the  industry  again  looked  hopel<  ss. 
The  neutralization  of  Nantucket  was  suggested  as  a 
possible  remedy  for  the  unfortunate  state  of  affairs, 
but  the  suggestion  met  with  no  favor.68  Finally,  in  1785, 
the  Massachusetts  legislature  came  to  the  rescue  with  an 
act  establishing  a  bounty  on  whale  products.  For  every 
ton  of  oil  imported  into  the  commonwealth,  the  whale- 
men were  to  receive  a  bounty  of  ,-£5  on  white  spermao  :  1 
oil;  sixty  shillings  on  brown  or  yellow  sperm  oil;  and 
forty  shillings  on  whale  oil.70  The  only  conditions  were 
that  the  vessel  be  owned  and  manned  wholly  by  inhabi- 
tants of  that  state,  and  that  the  oil  be  landed  in  some 
Massachusetts     port.     Inspectors     were     appointed     by 

••  Starbuck,  p.  78. 

67  loc.  cit. 

88  See  Table  II  in  Appendix  I. 

88  Macy,  p.  129. 

70  Starbuck,  p.  79. 


42  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

the  towns,  and  certificates  from  the  selectmen  stating 
kind  and  quantity  of  oil,  and  place  where  landed,  were 
required  in  order  to  secure  the  bounty. 

The  bounty  was  passed  mainly  to  help  the  inhabitants 
of  Nantucket  in  .firmly  re-establishing  their  one  valuable 
industry.  But  in  reality  the  working  of  the  bounty  was 
far  less  desirable  than  it  had  appeared.  As  a  result  of 
several  years  of  doing  without  oil  the  use  of  tallow 
candles  had  become  quite  general  among  the  people. 
There  was  also  little  demand  for  oil  for  lighting  streets  in 
towns  or  for  lighthouses.71  In  short  the  demand  for 
whale  products  was  greatly  limited,  while  at  the  same 
time  the  bounty  gave  an  unnatural  stimulation  to  the 
industry.  Over-production  was  the  result,  and  the 
hopes  of  advanced  profits  were  only  slightly  realized. 
Scammon  states  that  by  1 787-1 789  there  were  only  122 
vessels  engaged  in  whaling  from  Massachusetts  ports." 
Dartmouth  and  New  Bedford  had  fifty,  Nantucket 
thirty-six  and  various  Cape  Cod  towns,  but  mainly 
Wellfleet,  had  sixteen.  In  1775  these  same  three  impor- 
tant towns  had  had  fleets  of  80,  150  and  30  sails  respec- 
tively. Starbuck,  however,  gives  no  record  of  vessels 
sailing  from  any  Cape  Cod  town  from  1786  until  1794. 
Hence  it  seems  likely  that  Scammon  has  included  many 
small  craft  not  engaged  in  making  regular  voyages.  If 
so,  the  contrast  with  pre -Revolutionary  conditions  is 
still  more  marked. 

The  conditions  of  limited  market  and  low  prices  were 
so  unfavorable  that  some  of  the  Nantucket  whalemen 
went  to  Nova  Scotia,  settling  the  whaling  town  of  Dart- 
mouth, opposite  Halifax,  under  inducements  from  the 
English.  Some  accepted  an  offer  of  the  French  king  to 
carry  on  a  whaling  business  from  Dunkirk.  And  still 
others,  selling  their  vessels,  abandoned  a  business  in  which 
they  could  see  no  hope  of  betterment.7' 

Tl  Starbuck,  p.  87. 
"  Scammon,  p.  209. 
"  Starbuck,  pp.  88-90. 


The  Rise  of  American  IV haling.  43 

The  opening  of  the  French  market  to  American  whale 
products  in  1789  temporarily  brightened  the  prospects 
for  the  whalemen.  The  business  was  somewhat  stimu- 
lated, and  as  whales  were  becoming  scarce  on  the  old 
grounds,  larger  vessels  were  added  to  the  fleet.  Ships 
and  brigs  were  introduced  and  the  voyages  which  had 
reached  the  South  Atlantic  before  the  Revolution  were 
now  extended  until  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  reached.  Six 
ships  sailed  for  the  Pacific  from  Nantucket  and  New 
Bedford  in  1791.  They  were  not,  however,  the  first 
whalers  in  the  Pacific,  since  English  fitted  vessels  had 
preceded  them  by  at  least  four  years.74 

The  prosperity  which  was  expected  from  the  opening 
of  the  French  market  resulted  in  increased  activity  and 
competition.  The  outbreak  of  the  French  Revolution, 
however,  put  an  end  to  all  these  favorable  prospects, 
and  shipments  sent  there  after  1792  did  not  pay  costs.75 
The  markets  were  glutted,  the  price  of  bone  was  reduced 
to  ten  cents  per  pound,  instead  of  bringing  one  dollar 
per  pound  as  it  had  before  the  war,  and  oil  was  sold  for 
less  than  the  cost  of  production.78  And  again  there  was 
a  temporary  period  of  hauling  up  or  selling  vessels  rather 
than  engage  in  the  business  at  the  risk  of  still  further 
losses.  Soon  after  (1798)  the  prospects  of  trouble 
tween  France  and  the  United  States  added  another  load 
to  the  difficulties  of  the  whaling  interests.  The  depre- 
dations of  the  French  privateers  on  American  commerce 
were  felt  heavily  in  the  whaling  fleet.  Several  vessels 
were  captured,  four  from  Nantucket;  others  were  sold 
because  their  owners  would  not  send  them  out  at  the 
risk  of  capture.  This  risk  was  so  great,  says  Maey,7T 
that  "the  rates  of  insurance  increased  so  that  shipowners 
must  have  been  subject  to  a  loss,  according  to  prevail- 

"  Starbuck,  p.  90. 
7i  Macy,  p.  141 . 
71  Starbuck.  p.  01 . 
"  Macy.  p.  150. 


44  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

ing    prices    of   oil,    even  if    ships  had  arrived  with  full 
cargoes." 

From  this  time  until  the  outbreak  of  the  War  of  1 81 2  the 
whale  fishery  was  carried  on  under  uncertain  and  often- 
times adverse  conditions.  For  a  time — i.  e.,  until  about 
1806  or  1807 — the  fleet  was  gradually  increasing  in 
size  from  year  to  year,78  as  will  appear  from  the  figures 
giving  the  tonnage  of  the  fleet  in  Table  I  of  Appendix  I. 
But  after  that  year  the  tonnage  appears  to  have  declined 
steadily.  The  Embargo  of  1807  was  the  worst  in  its  ef- 
fects on  the  whale  fishery.  The  act  did  not  directly  in- 
clude whaling  vessels  in  the  prohibited  list,  but  by  stop- 
ping the  exportation  of  whale  products  the  prices  were 
kept  low.  At  first,  also,  the  dangers  of  capture  by  Eng- 
lish privateers  were  so  great  that  no  insurance  could  be 
secured,  and,  unwilling  to  bear  the  entire  risk,  many  of 
the  owners  withdrew  their  vessels.79  For  a  short  time  in 
1809  and  1 810  there  were  many  prospects  of  peace,  and 
by  the  end  of  the  latter  year  almost  the  whole  fleet  was 
again  in  commission.  Thus  when  the  war  did  break  out 
in  181 2  a  large  proportion  of  the  whaling  fleet  was  at 
sea — many  of  the  vessels  having  sailed  for  the  Pacific 
on  voyages  varying  from  two  to  two  and  a  half  years.89 
Some  of  the  vessels  returned  as  soon  as  they  learned 
of  the  war,  to  lie  idle  in  fortified  ports  until  the  coming 
of  peace  again.  Others  were  captured.  Nantucket  and 
New  Bedford,  the  chief  whaling  ports,  suffering  most 
heavily. 

In  the  two  years  just  preceding  the  war  the  towns 
sending  out  whaling  vessels  were,  besides  Nantucket 
and  New  Bedford:  Sag  Harbor,  N.  Y.,  Greenwich,  R.  I., 
and  Westport,  Mass.,  according  to  Starbuck's  record  of 
vessels  sailing.81     In  addition  to  the  ports  already  men- 

"  Starbuck,  p.  91 . 
"  Macy,  p.  150. 

10  Starbuck,  p.  93. 

11  Starbuck.  p.  iSoff. 


The  Rise  of  American  Whaling.  45 

tioned  the  following  places  had  sent  out  whaling  vessels 
between  1785  and  181 2:  In  Massachusetts,  Gloucester 
and  Wareham;in  Rhode  Island,  Providence  and  Bristol; 
in  Connecticut,  New  London,  Norwich  and  East  Haddam  ; 
in  New  York,  Hudson  and  New  York,  none  of  which, 
however,  sent  more  than  five  vessels  in  a  single  year. 
The  relative  importance  of  the  different  ports,  the  small 
scale  on  which  the  fishery  was  conducted  and  the  fluctua- 
tions from  year  to  year  may  be  seen  reflected  in  the 
records  of  clearances  from  these  ports  during  the  unset- 
tled period,  as  given  in  Table  II  of  Appendix  I. 

For  a  second  time  whaling,  except  from  Nantucket, 
was  stopped  by  war.  There  the  people  from  force  of 
necessity  were  obliged  to  keep  the  interests  alive,  both 
by  whaling  from  sloops  in  neighboring  waters  and  by 
sending  out  an  occasional  vessel  on  a  longer  voyage. 
Again,  however,  the  islanders,  knowing  only  the  one 
pursuit,  through  their  shipping,  found  themselves  facing 
the  hardships  of  actual  want  when  this  shipping  wa- 
interfered  with.  Of  the  forty-six  whaling  vessels  be»r 
longing  to  the  island  when  the  war  began,  only  twenty- 
three  remained  when  peace  was  declared.82 

Through  four  decades  the  American  whale  fishery 
had  lived  a  precarious  existence  of  constant  ups  and 
downs.  Foreign  wars,  unsettled  conditions  at  home, 
restricted  markets  and  unnatural  stimulation  had  kept 
the  business  in  a  continual  state  of  uncertainty.  Imme- 
diately before  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  the  whale 
fishery,  after  several  years  of  unbroken  success,  had 
reached  the  highest  point  in  size  and  prosperity  in  its 
whole  history.  But  at  no  time  in  the  thirty  years  from 
1785  to  1 81  5  were  the  conditions  stable  long  enough  for 
the  fishery  to  resume  its  former  importance.  Starbuck 
regarded  360  sail  as  a  conservative  estimate  of  the  size 
of  the  fleet  in   1775.     Though  exact  figures  are  lacking 

"  Macy,  p.  205. 


46  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

for  most  of  the  period  from  1 785-1 81 5,  it  seems  doubtful 
if  the  whaling  fleet  ever  reached  a  total  of  200  vessels. 
The  size  of  the  vessels  had  increased  and  the  length  of 
the  voyages  had  been  extended  until  whaling  in  the 
Pacific  was  well  established.  But  at  best  the  towns 
participating  were  few  and  the  number  of  vessels  was 
small.  It  was  truly  a  critical  period  in  the  history  of  the 
whale  fishery.  In  181 5,  for  the  second  time  in  a  half 
century,  the  declaration  of  peace  found  the  whaling 
industry  in  a  practically  ruined  condition,  to  be  rebuilt 
almost  anew.  But  from  the  ruins  a  whale  fishery  was  to 
grow  up,  slowly  and  steadily,  during  the  next  three 
decades,  of  such  importance  and  prosperity  as  no  other 
time  or  country  has  ever  seen. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Golden  Era  of  Whaling.     1815-1860. 

The  War  of  181 2  quite  effectually  put  a  stop  to  extensive 
whaling  operations.  In  1813,  1814  and  1815  the  imports 
of  whale  products  fell  to  a  small  fraction  of  what  they  had 
been  even  in  the  unsettled  times  of  a  few  years  before, 
and  the  exports  ceased  almost  entirely  under  the  opera- 
tion of  the  embargoes.  A  comparison  of  the  amounts  of 
imports  for  two  representative  years  will  show  the  extent 
of  the  war's  influence. 

Imports  of  Whale  Products. 

Gallons  Gallons  Pounds 

Sperm  Oil.  Whale  Oil.  Bone. 

181  1 844,200  304,825  43,200 

1815 48,510  4.  ..47 

From  1810  to  1815  Nantucket  and  New  Bedford  were 
the  only  ports  sending  out  more  than  a  single  vessel  and 
in  1812,  1813  and  181 4,  Nantucket  alone  kept  any  of  its 
whaling  fleet  employed.1 

The  news  of  the  peace  came  early  in  the  year  1  Si 5  and 
brought  almost  immediate  activity  to  the  whale  nslu-rv.3 
Ships  were  soon  fitted  and  sent  to  sea  both  by  the  old 
firms  and  by  new  adventurers  who  added  to  the  fleet. 
The  belief  that  the  first  cargoes  of  oil  would  bring  high 
prices  as  they  had  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution  acted  as 
a  powerful  stimulus  to  the  industry  and  led  many  to 
venture  beyond  the  extent  of  their  funds.  The  result  of 
this  condition  at   Nantucket,  says  Macy,3  was  the  intro- 

1  Starbuck's  records  of  sailing,  p.  iSoff. 
3  Macy,  p.  205. 
3  Macy,  p.  207. 


48  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

duction  of  "A  system  of  doing  business  on  long  credits. " 
The  fishery  was  benefit*  d  in  a  way,  since  more  ships  and 
more  men  were  thereby  employed,  but  general  business 
interests  suffered.  Merchants  were  hampered  by  being 
obliged  to  wait  for  bills  to  be  paid  and  by  having  to 
borrow  money  to  purchase  their  own  stocks  of  goods. 
Owners  of  vessels  who  were  not  favored  with  successful 
voyages  were  soon  financially  embarrassed,  and  a  general 
depression   prevailed   at   Nantucket. 

At  other  ports  the  industry  was  not  resumed  on  such 
an  extensive  scale  as  at  Nantucket,  and  hence  there  were 
not  the  same  financial  difficulties.  By  the  end  of  the 
year  1815  only  five  other  ports  besides  Nantucket  had 
sent  out  whaling  vessels:  New  Bedford,  Fairhaven,  Sag 
Harbor,  Hudson,  and  Westport — sending  a  total  of 
eighteen  sail,  a  little  over  a  third  the  number  sent  from 
Nantucket. 

In  the  following  year,  1816,  six  more  towns  were  added 
to  the  list  of  whaling  ports — Boston,  Eclgartown,  New- 
port, Wareham,  Rochester  and  Holmes  Hole.  But  only 
the  first  three  mentioned  continued  the  business  in  the 
years  immediately  following.  It  was  not  until  about 
two  years  afterward  that  whaling  was  once  more  on  a  firm 
basis,  with  prosperity  again  promising  to  smile  on  the 
industry.  In  181 8  the  vessels  began  to  return  with 
good  cargoes  from  profitable  voyages.  In  the  same  year 
the  "offshore  fishing  grounds"  in  the  Pacific  were  first 
visited,  and  the  plentiful  supply  of  whales  was  reported. 
The  prices  of  oil  still  remained  relatively  high,  and  though 
bone  was  not  yet  an  important  product,  its  price  was 
higher  than  it  had  been  before  the  war.  The  British 
northern  whale  fishery  had  failed  during  two  successive 
years,4  and  in  addition  to  the  other  European  markets, 
there  was  a  large  demand  for  oil  from  the  English  mar- 
kets.    These    conditions    seemed    to    give    whaling    the 

4  Macy,  p.  209. 


The  Golden  Era  oj  Whaling.  49 

impetus  which  it  had  needed.  New  life  was  given  to  the 
business  and  the  ascendency  of  whaling  prosperity  was 
fairly  begun. 

The  Nantucket  fleet  had  numbered  only  twenty-three 
sail  at  the  close  of  the  war  in  181 5. 5  By  181 9,  however, 
there  were  sixty-one  ships  and  brigs  employed,6  and  by 
1 82 1  the  fleet  had  increased  to  eighty-four.7  The  success 
of  the  fishery  from  Nantucket  was  an  important  factor 
in  stimulating  the  industry  at  other  ports.  For  over  a 
century  Nantucket  had  been  the  leader  in  the  realm  of 
whaling  ventures.  When  the  Nantucket  fishermen  made 
profitable  voyages,  merchants  from  other  ports  were  quick 
to  follow  their  example.  In  fact  the  whale  fishery,  per- 
haps more  than  any  other  industry,  was  at  all  times  easily 
stimulated  and  easily  depressed.  This  period  was  no  ex- 
ception to  the  rule.  For  two  or  three  years  about  1820 
there  were  over  a  score  of  ports  sending  out  whale  ships 
more  or  less  regularly,  mainly  from  Southern  New  Eng- 
land and  New  York  points.  Other  places  entered  the 
field  during  the  years  following,  though  from  many  of 
them  the  fishery  was  carried  on  intermittently  for  some 
time.  Nantucket  and  New  Bedford  far  outranked  all 
other  places  in  the  magnitude  of  their  whaling  interests. 
While  Fairhaven,  New  London,  Sag  Harbor  and  West- 
port  were  employing  gradually  increasing  fleets  each  year. 

Between  1820  and  1835  was  an  uneventful  period  in 
the  whaling  business,  marked  mainly  by  stable  conditions 
and  by  steady  but  gradual  growth.  In  1820  the  Pacific 
whaling  was  extended  to  the  coast  of  Japan,  and  within 
the  next  few  years  the  whalers  were  going  to  all  parts  of 
the  South  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans.  There  were  hardly 
a  half  dozen  ports  from  which  whaling  was  regularly 
pursued  in  1820.  During  the  early  twenties  the  num- 
ber of  important  whaling  ports  was  not  greatly  increased. 

6  Macy,  p.  205. 
•  Macy,  p.  209. 

7  Macy,  p.  225. 


50  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

Toward  1830,  however,  the  generally  prosperous  condi- 
tions of  the  whaling  interests  began  to  be  reflected  in  the 
larger  number  of  ports  from  which  vessels  were  regularly- 
sent  on  whaling  voyages  year  after  year.  Thus  from  1830 
on,  regular  fleets  were  employed  from  Falmouth,  Fall 
River,  Lynn,  Plymouth,  and  Salem,  in  Massachusetts; 
from  Bristol  and  Warren,  in  Rhode  Island;  from  Hudson, 
Greenport  and  Poughkeepsie,  in  New  York ;  from  Ports- 
mouth, New  Hampshire;  and  from  Stonington,  Connecti- 
cut. From  several  of  these  ports  the  fishery  had  been 
carried  on  intermittently  at  different  times  for  many 
years  previous  to  1830.  By  1835  the  number  of  ports 
had  increased  to  nearly  thirty,  writh  fleets  varying  from 
two  or  three  sail  to  nearly  two  hundred.  In  1835,  for  ex- 
ample, the  fleet  from  New  Bedford  and  Fairhaven  num- 
bered 178  vessels  and  in  1836  it  was  208. 8  In  1829  the 
combined  total  fleet  was  203  sail,  including  ships,  brigs 
and  schooners.  During  the  next  five  years  the  number 
more  than  doubled,  there  being  421  sail  in  the  whaling 
fleet  of  1834.9 

The  year  1835  marks  the  beginning  of  a  period  of 
almost  phenomenal  growth  and  prosperity  in  the  whale 
fishery,  the  effects  of  which  lasted  for  two  decades — the 
culmination  of  the  Golden  Age  of  whaling.  For  a  number 
of  years  previous  to  1835  whaling  had  met  with  fairly  uni- 
form success.  New  grounds  where  whales  were  very 
abundant  had  been  successively  opened.  The  industry 
had  enjoyed  settled  and  generally  favorable  conditions 
both  at  home  and  in  foreign  markets.  Whalebone  had 
come  to  have  an  increasingly  large  use  in  various  indus- 
tries and  from  being  regarded  as  waste  it  was  beginning 
to  rank  as  an  important  product.  The  markets  for  oil 
were  good,  and  in  the  years  just  previous  to  1835  the 
prices  had  shown  an  upward  tendency.     Sperm  oil  was 

8  Starbuck.  p. 702. 

9  Hunt's  Magazine,  XVI,  p.  99. 


The  Golden  Era  of  Whaling.  51 

noticeably  higher,  and  bone  was  bringing  twice  as  much 
as  it  had  in  1820.  At  the  same  time  the  quantities 
of  whale  products  imported  was  increasing  rapidly, 
though  not  constantly,  from  year  to  year.  In  18^5,  also, 
a  Nantucket  whaler  captured  the  first  right  whale  on  the 
northwest  coast  of  America,  thereby  opening  one  of  the 
most  important  grounds  ever  visited  by  the  whaling 
fleet.  Under  these  favorable  conditions  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  next  few  years  was  almost  inevitable. 

From  1835  to  i860  the  whaling  fleet  averaged  about 
620  vessels  annually  with  a  tonnage  aggregating  190,500 
tons.  The  annual  imports  averaged  117,950  barrels  of 
sperm  oil,  215,913  barrels  of  whale  oil  and  2,323,512 
pounds  of  bone — with  a  total  average  value  of  over 
$8,000,000  a  year.10 

The  six  years  from  1834  to  1840  witnessed  an  increase  of 
the  fleet  from  421  to  552  vessels.  In  the  latter  year  there 
were  thirty-eight  different  ports  regularly  engaged  in 
whaling,  though  about  two-thirds  of  the  total  fleet  were 
owned  at  New  Bedford  and  Fairhaven,  Nantucket,  New 
London  and  Sag  Harbor."  Another  six  years  and  the 
whaling  fleet  had  assumed  the  greatest  proportions  it  was 
ever  to  know.  In  1846  the  fleet  numbered  680  ships  and 
barks,  34  brigs  and  22  schooners,  with  a  total  tonnage  of 
233,262  tons.12  The  value  of  the  fleet  alone  at  this  time 
exceeded  $2 1,000, 000, 13  while  all  the  investments  con- 
nected with  the  business  were  estimated  to  have  a  value 
of  at  least  $70,000,000,  furnishing  the  chief  support  for 
70,000  persons.  But  as  was  characteristic  of  the  whale 
fishery,  in  spite  of  the  greater  number  of  vessels  <  mployed 
and  the  larger  amount  of  capital  invested,  the  impoi 
tions  in  1846  were  less  than  for  the  years  just  previous; 
and  less  than  the  quantities  imported  in  some  of  the  suc- 

10  Compiled  from  Scammon's  figures,  p.  243. 

11  Goode,  p.  171. 

11  "Whalemen's  Shipping  List." 
u  Scammon,  p.  213. 


52  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

ceeding  years  when  the  size  of   the  fleet  was  distinctly 
smaller. 

Though  1846  or  1847  is  generally  regarded  as  marking 
the  year  when  the  whale  fishery  reached  its  greatest 
prosperity,  the  conclusion  is  a  mistaken  one.  The  year 
1846  marks  only  the  year  when  the  largest  fleet  was  em- 
ployed and  the  amount  of  invested  capital  was  therefore 
greatest.  The  real  value  of  the  fishery  as  a  commercial 
enterprise  continued  to  remain  high  for  a  number  of  years 
afterward.  Prices  of  oil  and  bone  continued  to  rise  quite 
steadily  year  after  year  during  the  next  decade.  Between 
1846  and  1856  sperm  oil  rose  from  88  cents  to  $1.62  per 
gallon;  whale  oil  rose  from  34  cents  to  79  cents  and  bone 
rose  from  34  cents  to  58  cents  a  pound.  In  the  latter 
year,  despite  the  smaller  importations  than  for  some  of 
the  previous  years,  the  actual  value  of  the  products  was 
greater.  These  highly  prosperous  conditions  were  the 
direct  result  of  the  ready  markets  and  increased  consump- 
tion of  whale  products  throughout  the  country.  In 
1857,  however,  the  financial  depression  brought  a  sudden 
slump  in  prices  of  oil,  and  sounded  the  doom  of  whaling 
interests. 

The  whaling  boom  in  1846  and  1847  was  the  outcome 
partly  of  the  previous  years  of  success  and  prosperity, 
encouraging  new  ventures,  and  partly  of  the  opening  of 
the  new  grounds  for  bowhead  whales  in  the  Okhotsk  and 
Kamtchatka  Seas.  The  opening  of  the  Arctic  fishery 
two  years  later  gave  another  impetus  to  the  industry. 
The  importance  of  the  Pacific  grounds  at  this  time  may 
be  seen  from  the  number  of  vessels  cruising  in  the  differ- 
ent regions  in  the  year  1847.  About  sixty  small  barks, 
brigs  and  schooners  were  cruising  in  the  Atlantic  for 
sperm  whales,  and  one  ship  was  engaged  in  the  Davis 
Straits  fishery.  Some  thirty-two  barks  were  in  the  In- 
dian Ocean  after  sperm  whales,  while  a  single  schooner 
was  sperm  whaling  in  the  Pacific  and  a  dozen  other 
whalers  were  temporarily  engaged  in  the  merchant  ser- 


The  Golden  Era  of  Whaling.  53 

vice  or  acting  as  tenders  to  the  whaling  fleet.  Practically 
all  of  the  remaining  600  vessels  were  cruising  on  the  dif- 
ferent grounds  in  the  North  and  South  Pacific.  About 
a  fifth  of  these  were  sperm  whaling  only,  and  the  rest 
were  fitted  for  both  sperm  and  right  whaling.  The  first 
whaling  vessels  had  entered  the  Pacific  in  1791  and  now, 
a  little  over  half  a  century  later,  more  than  six-sevenths 
of  the  fleet  were  frequenting  those  grounds. 

The  Golden  Age  of  whaling  was  marked  by  numerous 
small  experiments  in  the  fishery  from  a  large  number  of 
ports.  Maine,  a  great  fishing  state  in  other  branches  of 
the  fisheries,  was  never  prominent  in  whaling.  Accord- 
ing to  some  accounts  whaling  was  carried  "on  for  many 
years  after  18 10  from  Prospect  Harbor,  while  shore  whal- 
ing in  the  vicinity  of  Tremont  was  begun  about  1 840  and 
continued  for  nearly  twenty  years.14  Between  1835  and 
1845  Bath,  Bucksport,  Portland  and  Wiscasset  had 
vessels  engaged  in  whaling,  but  none  of  them  had  more 
than  a  single  vessel  in  any  one  year.  Whaling  was  soon 
abandoned  from  all  Maine  ports. 

The  only  other  whaling  port  north  of  the  Massachusetts 
coast  was  Portsmouth,  N.  H.  The  fishery  from  there 
was  begun  in  1832,  and,  with  the  exception  of  one  year, 
one  or  two  vessels  were  fitted  for  whaling  annually  until 
1848. 

Newark,  N.  J.,  and  Wilmington,  Del.,  were  also  added 
to  the  list  during  this  time,  Wilmington  having  five 
vessels  in  its  fleet  from  1840  to  1842.  But  for  the  most 
part  the  minor  ports  were  in  Southern  New  England  and 
New  York  where  the  influence  of  the  greater  successes 
was  more  strongly  felt. 

A  glance  at  the  figures  showing  the  fleet  for  each  year 
at  the  different  whaling  ports  (Table  II  in  Appendix  I) 
shows  a  number  of  cases  where  whaling  became  a  regular 
industry  between   1830  and   1840;  the  fleet  reached   its 

11  Goode,  pp.  40-41. 


54  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

greatest  size  in  1845  to  1848  and  the  industry  was  finally 
abandoned  in  the  next  ten  or  fifteen  years.  Fall  River, 
Lynn,  Holmes  Hole;  Mystic  and  Stonington,  Conn.,  and 
Greenport,  New  York,  all  furnish  typical  examples  of  the 
stimulation  of  whaling  enterprises  from  1835  onward.  At 
several  of  these  places  the  whole  history  of  whaling  opera- 
tions falls  within  the  limits  of  the  Golden  Age.  They 
were  enterprises  which  came  into  existence  on  the  full 
tide  of  prosperity  reflected  from  other  ports.  They 
disappeared  as  quickly  -as  they  came  when  that  pros- 
perity began  to  totter. 

The  whaling  industry  from  practically  all  of  the  smaller 
ports  began  to  fall  off  after  1847  or  1848,  while  in  a  few 
places  there  had  been  a  decline  for  some  years  previous. 
But  not  so  with  New  Bedford.  As  far  back  as  1820 
the  New  Bedford  interests  had  become  a  close  rival 
of  Nantucket;  by  1830  New  Bedford  was  supreme  in 
importance  in  the  whale  fishery,  and  by  1840  the  New 
Bedford  fleet  was  more  than  twice  as  large  as  the  Nan- 
tucket fleet,  its  nearest  rival.  When  the  business  began 
to  fall  off  at  other  places,  it  kept  on  increasing  in  the  New 
Bedford  district.  After  1847  Nantucket,  New  London, 
and  Sag  Harbor,  following  the  great  majority,  were  yearly 
decreasing  their  whaling  fleets.  But  the  highest  point  of 
whaling  prosperity,  in  the  size  of  the  fleet,  amount  of 
capital  invested,  and  value  of  imports,  was  not  reached 
at  New  Bedford  until  1857.  In  that  year  the  fleet 
numbered  329  sail,  valued  at  over  $12,000,000,  and 
employing  some  10,000  seamen  alone.15  Whaling  with  its 
associated  industries  was  the  main  commercial  and  indus- 
trial interest  of  the  city,  and  thousands  of  busy  workers 
had  been  employed  during  the  preceding  century  in 
trades  and  professions  closely  related  to  the  whaling 
industry. 

During  the  Golden  Age  the  New  Bedford  district  was 
the  center  of  the  greatest  whaling  operations  ever  carried 

11  Pease,  p.  30. 


The  Golden  Era  of  Whaling.  55 

on  from  any  region  in  the  world.  Just  previous  to  the 
Revolution  Xantucket  had  stood  forth  resplendent  in  the 
prosperity  of  her  daring  whalemen.  But  in  all  her  glory 
Nantucket  had  not  risen  even  to  a  semblance  of  the 
industry  as  prosecuted  from  the  New  Bedford  district. 

Within  a  radius  of  ten  miles  of  New  Bedford  were 
Fairhaven,  Dartmouth,  Westport,  Mattapoisett  and 
Seppican,  making  up  a  whaling  fleet  from  Buzzard's  Bay 
that  totaled  426  sail  in  1857,  ten  years  after  the  fleets  of 
other  ports  had  begun  to  decrease.  Rochester  in  the 
same  circle  had  been  a  flourishing  whaling  town — in  fact 
there  was  hardly  a  town  in  this  area  which  had  not  taken 
an  active  part  in  whaling  enterprises. 

It  seems  safe  to  assert  that  no  other  industry  so  wide 
spread  in  its  operation  has  been  so  closely  restricted  in  the 
places  from  which  it  was  carried  on.  Even  in  its  greatest 
development  the  charmed  circle  of  important  whaling 
ports  was  not  widely  extended.  Outside  of  the  ports 
along  the  southern  New  England  coast  from  Cape  Cod  to 
New  York,  and  on  the  islands  to  the  south,  there  was 
hardly  a  single  important  port,  until  the  rise  of  San 
Francisco,  after  1880.  And  the  center  of  all  from  1820 
onward  was  at  New  Bedford. 

The  continued  growth  of  the  New  Bedford  interests, 
after  the  other  fleets  had  begun  to  decrease,  kept  up  the 
industry  to  a  high  rank  of  commercial  importance,  and 
through  a  whole  decade  had  warded  off  the  rapidly 
approaching  decline.  But  on  all  sides  whaling  vessels 
were  being  sold  or  withdrawn.  Partners  were  dropping 
out  of  the  whaling  companies.  Old  companies  ceased 
to  exist  at  ports  where  they  had  conducted  the  business 
for  years.  And  finally,  at  port  after  port,  the  industry 
was  entirely  abandoned.  The  changed  economic  condi- 
tions were  steadily  and  surely  undermining  whaling 
prosperity.  N<  B  Iford,  the  queen  of  whaling  ports, 
could  no  longer  turn  the  tide. 

It  is  not  at  all  easy  to  explain  why  the  New  B.-dford 


56  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

region  so  far  outranked  all  others  in  the  magnitude  of  her 
whaling  interests.  The  great  prosperity  of  the  Golden 
Age  had  grown  out  of  stable  economic  conditions  in  a 
time  of  no  important  wars  either  at  home  or  abroad. 
Industrial  prosperity  had  been  general.  The  demands  for, 
and  consumption  of,  oils  and  bone  had  increased  on  all 
sides.  The  European  markets  wTere  quite  largely  depen- 
dent on  the  American  supply.  Prices  were  good,  and  the 
opening  of  successive  whaling  regions  made  successful 
and  profitable  voyages  the  rule.  All  the  ports  alike 
carried  on  thsir  operations  under  these  same  favorable 
conditions.  But  New  Bedford  rapidly  outstripped  them 
all. 

The  New  Bedford  supremacy  could  not  be  due  to  closer 
proximity  to  the  whaling  grounds,  for  nearly  all  the 
important  grounds  were  in  the  Pacific.  Nor  could  it  be 
due  to  priority  in  the  fishery,  for  Nantucket  was  sending 
out  half  a  hundred  vessels  yearly  before  the  first  house 
was  built  in  New  Bedford.  In  Nantucket  necessity  had 
been  the  mother  of  the  fisheries,  for  no  other  means  of  a 
livelihood  was  offered.  But  at  New  Bedford  the  necessity 
was  no  greater  than  at  a  hundred  other  New  England 
ports.  The  harbor  was  no  better  than  many  others 
along  the  coast.  Boston  and  New  York  had  harbors 
far  superior  to  New  Bedford,  yet  neither  was  ever  a 
great  whaling  port.  The  facilities  for  refining,  for  manu- 
facture or  for  communication  were  no  better  than  at  other 
places.  No  regular  maritime  commerce  was  established 
until  the  trade  in  whale  products  developed  it,  and  the 
railroad  was  not  built  until  nearly  1850.  In  fact  there 
does  not  seem  to  be  any  good  reason  why  New  Bedford 
should  have  been  the  greatest  whaling  center  any  more 
than  Boston,  or  Provincetown,  or  New  London.  About 
the  only  plausible  explanation  seems  to  be  that  it  was 
largely  due  to  the  proximity  to  Nantucket.  At  Nan- 
tucket whaling  had  sprung  up  from  a  natural  stimulus 
and  met  with  success.     It  was  quite  logical  therefore  for 


The  Golden  Era  of  Whaling.  57 

the  New  Bedford  harbor  to  be  used  as  a  whaling  port. 
As  the  industry  flourished,  its  promoters  and  followers 
did  not  have  to  contend  with  the  same  unfavorable 
natural  conditions  as  those  which  had  to  be  met  on  1  >arren 
Nantucket.  Success  created  new  capital  and  attracted 
still  more  for  investment  in  whaling  ventures.  The 
New  Bedford  whalemen  soon  became  well  known  for 
their  skill  and  success.  Because  there  were  important 
interests  at  New  Bedford  others  were  attracted.  Hence 
the  fact  that  the  Golden  Age  of  whaling  was  very  largely 
the  prosperity  of  the  New  Bedford  fishery. 


.-j 


CHAPTER  V. 
The  Rise  of  Pacific  Whaling. 

Deep-sea  whaling  had  been  carried  on  in  the  Atlantic 
for  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century,  before  the  whalers, 
led  by  their  desire  for  more  rapipl  returns  and  greater 
profits,  rounded  Cape  Horn  into  the  Pacific  Ocean.  In 
1 791  six  ships  from  Nantucket  and  one  from  New  Bedford 
sailed  for  the  Pacific  on  sperm  whaling  voyages.  It  was 
an  epoch-making  step  in  the  history  of  whaling,  since  out 
of  the  abundance  of  these  distant  grounds  was  to  grow 
a  fishery  of  far-reaching  commercial  importance. 

These  first  Pacific  whalers  found  plenty  of  sperm  whales 
along  the  coast  of  Chili  and  returned  home  with  full 
cargoes  after  successful  voyages.  The  news  soon  spread 
through  the  fleet,  and  each  year  saw  an  increasing  number 
of  vessels  clearing  for  the  Pacific  grounds.  Later  voyages 
were  extended  farther  and  farther  north  along  the  coast 
until  the  equator  was  reached.  The  cruising  grounds  at 
first  were  confined  mainly  to  the  waters  up  to  a  distance 
of  100  leagues  from  land,1  and  in  this  region  whaling 
continued  until  the  fishery  was  temporarily  stopped 
during  the  war  of  1 8 1 2 . 

Whaling  was  resumed  again  in  181 5  and  the  years 
following,  and  the  fleet  resorted  to  the  old  Pacific  grounds. 
But  with  the  increasing  activity  of  the  whalemen,  whales 
began  to  be  scarce,  and  the  voyages  were  extended  in  the 
search  for  new  grounds.  In  181 8  the  so-called  "offshore 
grounds"  were  discovered  with  sperm  whales  in  large 
numbers,  and  by  1820  upwards  of  fifty  ships  were  cruis- 
ing in  that  region.     But  in  a  short  time  those  grounds 

1  Macy,  p.  217. 


The  Rise  of  Pacific  W lulling.  59 

were  also  practically  exhausted,  and  the  pursuit  of  whales 
led  the  adventurous  whalemen  farther  and  farther  into 
the  Pacific.  Between  1820  and  182 1  the  first  vessels 
went  to  the  Japanese  coast  and  in  the  following  year  more 
than  thirty  vessels  cruised  there.2  From  that  time  on  the 
voyages  were  extended  rapidly  to  other  parts  of  the  North 
and  South  Pacific,  while  some  vessels,  going  out  by  way 
of  the  eastern  route,  cruised  for  a  time  in  the  Indian 
Ocean,  mainly  about  Madagascar  and  the  mouth  of  the 
Red  Sea. 

The  steadily  increasing  prosperity  of  whaling  after  the 
war  was  reflected  in  the  growth  of  the  Pacific  fishery. 
About  1830  to  1835  the  Nantucket  fleet  went  mainly  to 
the  Pacific,  and  after  1840  they  went  there  almost  exclu- 
sively. The  Nantucket  fleet  was  also  soon  followed  by 
the  majority  of  the  New  Bedford  fleet,  and  a  large  part 
of  the  New  London  and  the  Sag  Harbor  vessels.  In  fact 
it  was  largely  due  to  the  vessels  from  these  latter  ports 
that  the  Pacific  fishery  was  so  rapidly  and  successfully 
extended.  The  Nantucket  whalemen,  on  the  other 
hand,  persisted  in  resorting  to  the  older  grounds  often 
for  many  years  after  new  grounds  were  proving  more 
profitable  to  the  vessels  from  other  ports.  This  fact  alone 
was  an  important  factor  in  bringing  about  the  early 
reverses  in  whaling  enterprises  from  Nantucket. 

About  1838  the  great  northwest  coast  whaling  grounds 
were  discovered.  Five  years  later  whales  were  first 
taken  along  the  coast  of  Kamtchatka  and  in  the  Okhotsk 
Sea,  and  ten  years  later,  1848,  a  Sag  Harbor  vessel  made 
a  very  successful  voyage  in  the  Arctic  Oct  an  north  of 
Bering  Strait.  For  several  years  previous  to  that  date 
the  chief  cruising  grounds  in  the  North  Pacific  had  been 
along  the  northwest  coast  and  south  of  Bering  Strait.' 
Thus  it  had  taken  only  a  little  over  half  a  century  from 
the  time  the  first  whalers  entered  the  Pacific  until  they 

1  Macy,  p.  218. 

*  Goode,  note,  p.  85. 


6o  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

had  penetrated  as  far  as  the  Arctic.  From  the  very  first 
the  value  of  the  Arctic  fishery  was  apparent,  and  the 
fleet  frequenting  the  Arctic  grounds  increased  rapidly  in 
numbers.  In  the  last  few  decades  it  has  been  the  most 
important  of  all  whaling  regions,  almost  all  the  Pacific 
fleet  cruising  in  Arctic  waters. 

Up  to  the  time  that  whaling  was  begun  in  the  Arctic, 
the  whole  Pacific  fishery  had  been  carried  on  from  the 
whaling  ports  on  the  Atlantic.  Though  the  whalers  often 
put  into  Pacific  ports,  or  wintered  along  the  coast,  it  was 
from  the  New  England  ports  that  the  vessels  sailed  and  to 
them  that  they  returned  with  their  cargoes  of  oil  and 
bone.  Many  months  of  valuable  time  were  thus  con- 
sumed in  the  long  voyages  out  and  in  around  Cape  Horn. 

Two  years  after  the  first  whaler  entered  the  Arctic 
region  whaling  was  begun  as  a  Pacific  coast  industry. 
Late  in  1850  an  old  whaling  vessel,  the  Popmunnett,  was 
fitted  and  sent  out  from  San  Francisco  on  a  sperm  whal- 
ing voyage  to  the  Gallipagos  Islands,  and  the  coasts  of 
Chili  and  Peru.4  A  bark  soon  followed,  but  what  success 
these  voyages  met  is  not  recorded.  And  it  was  not  until 
fifteen  years  later  that  San  Francisco  again  appeared  as  a 
whaling  port. 

In  1 85 1,  however,  shore  whaling  was  tried  at  Monterey. 
The  whales  were  pursued  in  boats  and  when  captured 
were  towed  ashore  where  the  blubber  was  removed. 
In  fact  the  whole  experiment  was  carried  on  in  essentially 
the  same  way  as  it  had  been  done  by  the  New  England 
whalers  more  than  150  years  before.  Out  of  this  exper- 
iment arose  a  regular  system  of  shore  whaling  which  in  the 
course  of  twenty  years  was  carried  on  from  eleven  sta- 
tions.5 These  stations  were  located  along  the  coast  from 
Half  Moon  Bay,  on  the  north,  to  Point  Abanda,  in  Lower 
California,  on  the  south.  They  were  situated  near  Half 
Moon  Bay,  Pigeon  Point,  two  at  Monterey  Bay,  Carmel 

4  Starbuck,  p.   ioo. 
s  Scammon,  p.  247. 


The  Rise  of  Pacific  Whaling.  61 

Bay,  San  Simeon,  San  Louis  Obispo,  Goleta,  Portuguese 
Bend,  San  Diego,  and  Point  Abanda.  The  organization 
of  each  party  was  patterned  after  that  of  a  whaling  vessel, 
with  officers  and  crew  being  paid  their  regular  "lav." 
Many  of  the  whalers  were  Portuguese  and  Italians.6 
But  like  all  other  shore  whaling  operations  its  success  was 
only  temporary  and  the  dying  out  of  the  industry  was 
soon  foreshadowed  by  the  increasing  scarcity  of  whales 
near  the  coast.  In  1874,  Scammon  says,  "having  been 
so  long  and  constantly  pursued  (the  whales),  are  exceed- 
ingly wild  and  difficult  of  approach,  and  were  it  not  for 
the  utility  of  Greener's  gun  (harpoon  gun)  the  coast 
fishery  would  be  abandoned,  it  being  now  next  to  impos- 
sible to  "strike"  with  the  hand  harpoon."7  Before  1888 
the  entire  shore  fishery  had  been  giv<  n  up,  San  Simeon, 
in  1887,  being  the  last  station  abandoned.8 

Though  San  Francisco  first  began  as  a  whaling  port  in 
1850,  it  was  not  until  two  decades  later  that  the  industry 
was  regularly  carried  oh.  There  are  various  references  to 
whaling  vessels  sailing  from  that  port  during  the  years 
from  1850  to  1869,8  but  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
any  permanent  fleet  employed  until  1869  and  the  years 
following.10  By  1869  the  decline  of  whaling  interests 
was  well  under  way — in  fact  had  gone  so  far  that  the 
Nantucket  industry  was  finally  abandoned  in  that  year,11 
though  according  to  Goode's  table"  there  was  a  whaling 
*  at  Nantucket  until  1873.  Stonington,  Mystic, 
Greenport,  Cold  Spring,  Warren,  Wan  ham.  Fall  River, 
Seppican,  Falmouth,  Holmes  Hole,  Providence,  Newport, 
Lynn,   Quincy,   Mattapoisett,   Yarmouth  and  Somerset, 

'  Scammon,  p.  250. 

7  Scan-.- 

8  Fish  Comm  44. 
'  Starbuck,  pp.  400,  608,  630. 

10  "Whalemen's  SI 

11  Macy,  p.  301 . 
"  Goode,  p.   171. 


62  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

mustering  a  fleet  of  ninety-two  vessels  in  1850,  no  longer 
sent  out  a  single  whaler.13  Thus  whaling  as  a  true  Paci- 
fic coast  industry  was  not  regularly  established  until  after 
the  decline  of  whaling  had  become  marked  at  the  Atlan- 
tic ports,  and  whatever  growth  was  shown  was  in  the  face 
of  adverse  conditions. 

During  the  succeeding  years  there  were  spasmodic 
movements  in  the  whaling  business,  as  the  result  of  some 
rise  in  prices  or  some  new  instance  of  a  phenomenal 
voyage.  But  on  the  whole  the  San  Francisco  fleet  alone 
showed  any  steady  growth.  From  1869  to  1880  the 
fleet  from  that  port  was  never  larger  than  eight  sail,  and 
during  most  of  the  time  it  numbered  only  one  or  two 
sail.  But  after  1880  the  growth  was  fairly  rapid  for  a 
number  of  years. 

The  steam  whaling  vessel  was  introduced  into  the  fleet 
in  1880,  bringing  about  a  sort  of  revolution  in  Arctic 
whaling.  Up  to  this  time  the  northern  fleet  had  been 
accustomed  to  winter  in  San  Francisco  or  at  some  other 
port  in  the  Pacific,  spending  the  time  either  in  refitting 
or  perhaps  in  short  cruises  for  whales  in  the  milder 
latitudes.  The  so-called  "lagoon  whaling,"  in  the  arms 
and  lagoons  of  Magdalena  Bay  was  a  favorite  form  of 
employment  during  the  winter  season.  As  early  as  1848, 
fifty  ships  were  anchored  there  for  this  purpose,  the  whal- 
ing being  done  entirely  from  boats.14  As  soon  as  spring 
opened,  the  vessels  went  north  again  to  wait  for  the  ice 
to  break  up  so  that  they  could  pass  through  Bering  Strait. 
In  the  autumn  the  vessels  returned  with  their  cargoes, 
which  were  transshiped  to  the  east  from  San  Francisco. 
Panama,  Honolulu  and  other  points.15 
fesftWith  the  introduction  of  the  steam  whaling  vessel, 
however,  arose  the  practice  of  remaining  in  the  Arctic 
during  the  winter  in  order  to  be  earlier  on  the  grounds 

n  "Shipping  List,"  1S50.     Scammon,  p.  241. 
14  Scammon,  p.  268. 
"  Goode,  p.  26. 


The  Rise  of  Pacific  \V lulling.  63 

when  the  ice  broke  up  in  the  spring.  And  by  1893  one- 
fourth  the  vessels  whaling  in  the  North  Pacific  and 
Arctic  Oceans  wintered  off  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie 
River.16  A  steamer  visited  the  absent  vessels  to  carry 
supplies  and  to  receive  any  oil  or  bone  taken.  As  a 
r<  suit  the  interests  of  San  Francisco  in  the  whale  fishery 
could  not  be  accurately  measured  by  the  size  of  the  fleet 
owned  there.  The  greater  part  of  the  northern  fleet  was 
accustomed  to  resort  to  that  port  as  headquarters  both 
for  refitting  and  for  transshipment  of  their  cargoes  to  the 
Atlantic  seaboard. 

The  facilities  for  shipment  afforded  by  the  trans- 
continental railroads  also  had  a  marked  influence  on  the 
industry.  Formerly  all  transshipment  of  cargoes  to  the 
home  ports  had  been  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  or 
by  vessel  around  Cape  Horn.  The  railroads  from  San 
Francisco  changed  all  this  and  from  a  minor  whaling 
port,  San  Francisco  rapidly  came  to  be  the  foremost 
whaling  rendezvous  in  the  country.  True  it  is  that  New 
Bedford  still  possessed  a  larger  fleet,  but  a  great  many 
of  its  vessels  carried  on  the  business  from  San  Francisco 
as  their  headquarters. 

Still  another  favorable  circumstance  was  the  establish- 
ment of  extensive  refineries  near  San  Francisco.  For 
some  years  after  the  beginning  of  whaling  from  San 
Francisco  all  the  manufacturing  of  whale  and  sperm  oils 
had  continued  to  be  done  exclusive  ly  in  the  ne  ighborhood 
of  the  Atlantic  ports— largely  at  New  Bedford.  In  1883, 
however,  refineries  were  built  near  San  Francisco,17 
thereby  enabling  the  western  owners  to  find  a  market 
for  their  manufactured  products  without  paying  the 
heavy  costs  of  shipping  them  east  to  the  refineries  of  New 
Bedford.  In  addition  to  the  refining  plants,  there  were 
also  large  works  for  the  manufacture  of  sperm  candles, 

19  Fish  Comm.  Rep.,  iSq4.  p.  153. 
17  Fish  Comm.  Rep.,  1883,  p.  327. 


64  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

so  that  the  western  industry  in  almost  every  way  was 
made  independent  of  the  eastern  ports. 

Under  these  favorable  conditions  the  San  Francisco 
fleet  grew  rapidly  after  1880,  increasing  from  three  vessels 
in  that  year  to  thirty-three  vessels  in  1893,  about  two- 
thirds  of  which  number  were  steamers.  That  the  San 
Francisco  fleet  should  grow  while  all  other  fleets  were  de- 
creasing from  year  to  year  may  seem  unnatural,  since  all 
alike  had  to  meet  practically  the  same  economic  con- 
ditions. From  all  indications  the  explanation  seems  to 
be  clearly  enough  in  the  fact  that  the  rise  of  the  San 
Francisco  fishery  was  a  transferring  of  interests.  Instead 
of  being  owned  in  New  Bedford  and  New  London,  and 
making  their  headquarters  at  San  Francisco — the  eastern 
interests  were  transferred  to  vessels  registered  directly 
from  the  Pacific  port. 

The  fishery  from  the  western  coast  has  therefore 
almost  entirely  superseded  that  from  the  Atlantic  ports. 
Since  1895  Boston,  New  Bedford,  Provincetown  and  San 
Francisco  have  been  the  only  ports  from  which  whaling 
vessels  were  regularly  registered,  and  in  1903  the  business 
at  Boston  was  abandoned.  New  Bedford  and  San 
Francisco  alone  are  now  important.  Provincetown  has 
only  three  schooners,  all  employed  in  sperm  whaling  in 
the  Atlantic,  along  with  two  schooners  and  seven  barks 
from  New  Bedford,18  and  one  brig  from  Norwich,  Conn. 

At  present  practically  all  the  large  vessels  in  the  whal- 
ing fleet  operate  from  San  Francisco.  The  North  Pacific- 
Arctic  fleet  numbered  twenty  vessels  in  1905  out  of  a 
total  fleet  of  forty-two  vessels.  The  principal  whaling 
ground  is  now  along  the  ice  fields  of  the  Arctic  Ocean, 
where  the  ships  cruise  from  the  time  the  ice  breaks  up  in 
the  spring  until  winter  sets  in  again  in  October.  The 
season  for  Arctic  whaling  is  therefore  short,  and  the 
pursuit  of   the  whales  is  at  times  extremely  dangerous. 

11  "Whalemen's  Shipping  List,  1906." 


The  Rise  of  Pacifie  Whaling.  65 

The  dense  Arctic  fogs  are  a  frequent  menace  to  the  boats 
until  the  fog  lifts.  The  supplies  are  carried  out  from 
home  by  tenders  which  in  turn  bring  back  the  oil  and 
bone  resulting  from  the  season's  work.  But  an  occasional 
closing  in  of  the  ice  upon  vessels  but  partly  provisioned 
often  means  hardship  and  suffering  for  the  whalemen. 
Thus  in  the  past  winter  several  vessels,  having  on  board 
some  450  men  were  imprisoned  at  Herschel  and  at 
Bailey  Islands,  only  about  half  provisioned.19  The 
more  serious  side  of  the  Arctic  fishery,  the  disasters 
resulting  from  encounters  with  the  ice,  as  in  1871  and 
1876,  makes  one  of  the  saddest  chapters  in  the  story  of 
American  whaling.  The  losses  resulting  from  this 
cause  were  a  powerful  factor  in  bringing  about  the  decline 
of  the  business.  In  other  words,  the  whale  fishery  of  the 
future,  whatever  that  may  be,  must  almost  inevitably  be 
largely  the  San  Francisco  or  Pacific  coast  industry,  de- 
pending on  a  fair  supply  and  a  favorable  market  for 
whalebone. 

19  Manchester  (N.H.)  "Union,"  July  15,  1906  ;    "Whalemen's  Ship- 
ping List,  1906. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Decline  of  American  Whaling. 

Sixty  years  ago  the  American  whaling  fishery  was  in 
the  full  height  of  its  greatest  prosperity,  with  the  largest 
number  of  vessels  ever  employed  in  whaling.  Now  its 
glory  is  gone  and  the  fleet  both  in  number  and  tonnage 
of  vessels  is  smaller  than  at  almost  any  other  time  since 
the  Revolution.  To  trace  the  progress  of  this  decline  and 
the  economic  changes  which  have  induced  it,  is  one  of  the 
most  important  phases  in  the  history  of  the  whaling 
industry. 

During  the  height  of  whaling,  the  industry  had  grown 
with  remarkable  rapidity  to  proportions  far  beyond  all 
expectations.  The  climax  was  reached  in  1846  when  the 
fleet  numbered  736  sail,  with  an  aggregate  tonnage  of 
over  230,000  tons.1  The  sudden  increase  of  the  fleet  in 
1846, — an  increase  of  forty -one  over  1845  and  of  ninety- 
one  over  1844 — was  the  result  of  a  demand  for  more  ships 
in  the  lucrative,  newly  opened  fisheries  for  bowhead 
whales  in  Okhotsk  Sea,  along  the  Kamtchatkan  coast 
and  in  Bering  Strait.  But  the  very  causes  which  had 
helped  to  bring  about  this  rapid  growth,  operated  event- 
ually toward  the  beginning  of  the  decline. 

The  prosperity  continued  for  several  years,  almost  a 
decade  in  fact,  until  the  returning  vessels  brought  such 
great  quantities  of  oil  and  bone  that  the  market  was 
glutted  and  prices  of  oil  fell.  Voyages  that  would 
formerly  have  yielded  good  profits  were  made  at  a  loss, 
and  the  condition  of  success  and  prosperity  became  one  of 

1  "Whalemen's  Shipping  List,"  Mar.  7,   1905. 


Decline  of  American  Whaling.  67 

uncertainty  and  anxiety.  Almost  coincident  with  this 
depression  came  the  financial  crisis  of  1857  with  the 
general  depression  of  industries  throughout  the  country. 
The  whaling  industry  never  fully  recovered  from  the 
setback  it  received  then.  New  conditions  unfavorable  to 
whaling  interests  soon  arose,  and  within  a  few  years  the 
decline  of  the  industry  had  begun,  to  continue  almost 
without  interruption  down  to  the  present  day. 

Before  entering  into  the  detailed  discussion  of  the 
phases  and  causes  of  the  decline,  a  general  view  of  its 
extent  may  be  had  from  a  table  showing  the  size  and 
tonnage  of  the  fleet  in  a  few  representative  years.  The 
progress  from  year  to  year  may  be  seen  in  the  table  of 
statistics  for  the  whole  fleet  given  in  Table  I  of  Appendix 
I,  from  which  these  figures  are  selected  : 

Decline  of  the  Whaling  Fleet. 


Ships  and 
Bark6. 

Brigs. 

Schooners. 

Total. 

Tonnage. 

1846 

680 

34 

22 

736 

.262 

1861 

450 

14 

41 

514 

158.745 

1869 

223 

25 

88 

33f> 

74. 512 

1873 

1  5  3 

1  2 

38 

203 

47.Q06 

1890 

65 

6 

26 

97 

22.718 

1 90 1 

27 

0 

13 

40 

8,746 

1906 

25 

2 

14 

42 

0.878 

The  years  here  given  may  be  regarded  as  milestones  in 
the  decline,  since  each  marks  an  important  downward 
step.  Thus  after  i86q  the  fleet  never  numbered  over 
300  sail;  after  1873  it  never  reached  200  again;  since 
1890  it  has  been  less  than  100,  and  in  the  last  five  years 
it  has  been  below  fifty  vessels.  The  same  rul(  also  holds 
for  the  figures  of  tonnage. 

First,  to  consider  the  extent  of  the  decline  more  in  detail. 
Between  1846  and  1850  there  were  nearly  fifty  different 
ports  in  southern  New  England  and  New  York  sending 
out  whaling  vessels.  The  fleet  averaged  over  000  sail 
each  year,  bringing  in  a  product  with  an  average  annual 


68  A  History  of  the  American  Wlwle  Fishery. 

value  of  about  $8,ooo,ooo.2  Many  of  the  ports,  however, 
employed  less  than  a  half  dozen  vessels,  perhaps  only  one 
or  two,  the  industry  having  been  undertaken  as  a  result 
of  the  great  whaling  prosperity  beginning  in  the  early 
forties.  The  industry  was  abandoned  from  some  of  these 
minor  posts  before  the  climax  of  whaling  prosperity  was 
reached  in  1846.  Thus  there  is  no  record  of  vessels 
sailing  from  the  following  ports  after  the  dates  given:1 

1841  1845 

Hudson,  N.  Y.  Portsmouth,  N.  H. 
Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y. 

Newark,  N.J.  l846 

Wilmington,  Del.  Barnstable,  Mass. 

Bueksport,  Me.  Plymouth,  Mass. 

Bristol,  R.  I. 

1>c>44  Bridgeport,  Conn. 
Duxbury,  Mass. 
Freetown,  Mass. 

But  most  of  the  ports  continued  to  send  out  their 
vessels  until  a  change  in  conditions  began  to  be  felt. 
The  minor  ports  seemed  almost  to  foretell  the  approaching 
depression,  for  at  one  after  another  the  business  was 
abandoned,  in  most  cases  never  to  be  resumed.  The 
business  at  a  number  of  these  ports  was  given  up  while 
whaling  was  still  enjoying  remarkable  prosperity  at 
New  Bedford  and  other  places.  Why  it  should  have  been 
so  is  hard  to  tell.  The  suggestion  that  the  smaller 
enterprises  were  crowded  out  by  the  larger  seems  to 
be  refuted  by  the  very  nature  of  the  industry  and  the 
fact  that  market  prices  were  steadily  rising.  The  most 
logical  conclusion  apparently  is  that  these  vessels  from 
small  ports  really  made  the  large  ports  their  headquarters, 
and  it  was  only  an  easy  step  for  them  to  be  transferred  or 
sold  to  the  larger  companies  operating  from  New  Bedford, 
Sag  Harbor  or  New  London.     Hence  what  is  commonly 

2  Scammon,  p.  243. 

3  Compiled  from  Starbuck's  records  of  sailing. 


Decline  of  American   IT  haling. 


69 


called  the  first  stage  of  the  decline  was  only  a  phase  in 
whaling  development.  Later  on,  however,  it  was  ap- 
parent that  the  industry  was  actually  on  the  decline ; 
that  the  abandonment  of  the  business  at  different  ports 
was  the  result  of  adverse  conditions  which  the  small 
ports  were  the  first  to  feel.  The  following  table  gives  the 
names  of  the  ports  and  the  respective  dates  of  the  last 
recorded  clearances:4 


184s 

Somerset,  Mass. 
Chilmark,  Mass. 

1849 

Quincy,  Mass. 
Yarmouth,  Mass. 

1S50 
New  Suffolk,  X.  V. 

1852 
Truro,  Mass. 

1853 
Gloucester,  Mass. 
Lynn,  Mass. 

1854 
Providence,  R.  I. 

1856 
Newport,  R.  I. 

1857 
Wareham,  Mass. 
Grcenport,  X.  V. 
Cold  Spring,  X    Y 

1858 
New  Haven,  Conn. 

C859 

Falmouth,  Mass. 


i860 
Fall  River,  Mass. 
Stonington,  Conn. 
Mystic,  Conn. 

1861 
Orleans,  Mass. 
Warren,  R.  I. 

1862 
Sandwich,  Mass. 
Holmes  Hole,  Mass. 

1864 
Mattapoisett,  Mass. 

1867 
Wellfleet,  Mass. 

1868 
Salem,  Mass. 
Tisbury,  Mass. 
Groton,  Conn. 

1869 
Newburyport,  Mass. 
Nantucket,  M. 

187  j 
I  [arbor,  X    Y 

Beverly,  M 

New  York    N    Y 


4  Compiled  from  Starbuck's  records  of  clear. 


/O  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

Thus  in  twenty-five  years  whaling  was  finally  aban- 
doned from  thirty  ports,  including  some  of  the  oldest 
whaling  towns  in  New  England.  Practically  all  the 
Cape  Cod  industry  was  gone  except  the  Provincetown 
fleet.  Nantucket,  the  queen  of  whaling  ports  a  century 
before,  had  sent  her  last  whaler.  All  the  New  York 
industry  was  abandoned,  even  from  Sag  Harbor,  whence 
it  had  been  carried  on  almost  constantly  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  previous  century.  And  of  the  Connecticut 
ports,  New  London  alone  still  had  a  whaling  fleet.  In 
short,  by  1875  the  only  important  whaling  interests  still 
remaining  were  the  Provincetown  fleet  of  schooners  and 
the  fleet  owned  in  what  might  be  styled  the  New  Bedford 
district,  comprising  the  ports  of  New  Bedford,  Fairhaven, 
Dartmouth,  Marion  and  Westport.  Edgartown  had 
one  vessel;  Boston,  three;  New  London,  six;  and  San 
Francisco,  two.  The  fleet  then  numbered  163  sail, 
aggregating  37,733  tons — a  decrease  of  over  seventy -five 
per  cent  in  numbers  and  over  eighty  per  cent  in  tonnage 
in  less  than  thirty  years.  Of  this  fleet  nearly  two-thirds, 
107  vessels,  belonged  in  New  Bedford  alone. 

But  as  sweeping  as  these  changes  had  been,  the  down- 
ward movement  was  not  complete.  Out  of  the  half  score 
of  ports  still  carrying  on  whaling  in  1875,  only  New  Bed- 
ford, Provincetown,  Boston  and  San  Francisco  were  to 
continue  until  the  end  of  the  century,  the  others  met  the 
same  fate  as  had  befallen  many  before  them — the  in- 
ability to  carry  on  whaling  any  longer  as  a  profitable 
business.  Fairhaven  dropped  out  in  1879.  Westport  in 
1881,  Dartmouth  in  1882,  Marion  in  1886.  New  London 
in  1893,  Edgartown  in  1895,  and  Boston  in  1903.  Ston- 
ington,  from  which  whaling  was  resumed  in  1878.  after 
a  lapse  of  seventeen  years,  again  dropped  from  the  list 
in  1893.  During  the  whole  period  none  of  these  ports 
was  important,  since  there  was  hardly  a  year  when  any 
individual  fleet  exceeded  five  sail,  or  the  total  fleet  from 
the  minor  ports  was  over  a  score  of  vessels. 


Decline  of  American  Whaling.  71 

On  January  1,  1906,  there  were  three  whaling  ports 
employing  fleets  as  follows:  New  Bedford  twenty-four 
vessels,  tonnage  5,618;  San  Francisco  fourteen  vessels, 
tonnage  3,626;  Provincetown  three  vessels,  tonnage  340. 
Norwich,  Conn.,  again  appeared  as  a  whaling  port  with 
one  brig  of  294  tons,  after  a  lapse  of  seventy  years.  For 
the  ten  years  ending  1905  the  whaling  fleet  has  aver- 
aged fifty-one  sail  with  a  tonnage  of  10,184  tons,  yield- 
ing an  average  annual  product  valued  at  nearly  $1,000,- 
000.  When  compared  with  the  annual  averages  for  a 
half  century  ago  it  seems  hard  to  realize  that  the  figures 
apply  to  the   same  industry. 

Accompanying  the  decline  in  the  size  of  the  fleet  and 
the  amount  and  value  of  the  annual  product  of  the  whale 
fishery,  there  has  been  a  similar  decline  in  the  market 
price  of  oil.  The  price  of  bone,  however,  has  steadily 
risen,  a  fact  of  the  utmost  significance  to  the  industrv. 
After  1847  the  price  of  sperm  oil  never  fell  below  Si. 00 
per  gallon  for  thirty  consecutive  years — a  good  part  of 
the  time  it  ranged  between  Si. 30  and  Si. 60  per  gallon, 
while  after  the  war  it  rose  as  high  as  S2.55  per  gallon.5 
During  the  same  period  the  price  of  whale  oil  fluctuated 
generally  between  50  and  80  cents  per  gallon,  going  as 
high  as  Si. 45  per  gallon  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Since 
about  1875,  though  the  prices  of  sperm  and  whale  oils 
have  varied  up  and  down  from  year  to  year,  the  tendency 
on  the  whole  has  been  a  steady  decline.  In  1805  whale 
oil  went  the  lowest  that  it  has  been  since  1834,  falling  to 
28  cents  per  gallon,  and  in  the  year  following,  sperm 
oil  fell  to  the  lowest  price  recorded  in  a  hundred  years, 
40  cents  per  gallon.  At  present  (1905)  the  average 
prices  are:  sperm  oil  46  cents  per  gallon,  and  whale 
oil  31  cents  per  gallon. 

On  the  other  hand  the  price  of  bone  has  tended  steadily 
upward,  though  showing  wide  fluctuations  from  year  to 

1  See  complete  table  of  average  annual  prices,  Table  V  of  Appendix  I . 


*j2  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

year.  Thus  for  sev<  ral  years,  just  in  the  height  of  whaling 
prosperity,  the  average  annual  price  of  bone  was  less  than 
40  cents  per  pound.  In  1891  it  touched  $5.38,  and 
in  1904,  $5.80,  per  pound,  the  latter  being  the  highest 
annual  average  ever  recorded.  In  1905,  the  average 
price  was  $4.90  per  pound.  Often  during  recent  years 
only  the  bone  has  been  saved,  the  remainder  of  the  carcass 
being  cast  adrift  if  other  whales  are  in  sight,6  because 
the  bone  is  so  much  more  valuable  than  the  oil.  It 
seems  almost  unquestionable  that  with  the  low  prices 
and  limited  demand  for  oil  the  whale  fishery  would  cease 
entirely  but  for  the  more  valuable  whale  bone. 

Practically  no  other  industry  in  the  country  can  present 
any  parallel  to  the  revolution  that  the  whale  fishery  has 
undergone  in  the  space  of  sixty  years.  From  a  business 
representing  an  invested  capital  of  tens  of  millions  of 
dollars,  and  giving  employment  to  tens  of  thousands  of 
men,  it  has  fallen  to  a  place  where  whaling  is  no  longer 
of  any  great  importance  even  to  the  communities  from 
which  it  is  carried  on.  In  fact  whaling  is  kept  alive  at 
all  only  by  the  demand  for  a  product  which  a  century 
ago  was  regarded  as  hardly  worth  saving.  To  work  such 
changes  in  a  once  great  industry  powerful  factors  have 
been  at  work,  undermining  from  all  sides  the  foundation 
on  which  whaling  prosperity  rested. 

One  of  the  most  potent  causes  working  toward  the 
downfall  of  whaling  is  found  in  the  nature  of  the  industry 
itself — the  uncertainty  of  the  business.  It  would  be 
hard  to  find  any  other  business,  employing  so  much 
capital,  where  the  uncertainty  of  profitable  returns  is  so 
great  as  has  always  been  the  case  with  the  whale  fishery. 
One  year  may  bring  successful  voyages  and  good  profits, 
only  to  be  offset  the  next  year  by  heavy  losses  of  life, 
money  and  property.  This  has  been  especially  true  since 
the  opening  of  the  Arctic  fishery  in  1848.     To  illustrate 

e  Fish  Comm.  Rep.,  1893,  p.  202. 


Decline  of  American   Whaling.  73 

the  point,  in  April,  1866,  two  New  Bedford  ships,  the 
Corinthian  and  the  George  Howland,  arrived  within  five 
days  of  each  other — the  gross  value  of  each  of  the  two 
cargoes  was  $250,000,  and  it  is  said  that  $125,000  profit 
was  made  on  each,  on  a  capital  of  $25,000.  Again,  in 
1886  the  bark  Europa  returned  from  a  voyage  in  Japan 
and  Okhotsk  Seas  with  a  cargo  valued  at  $248,000/  On 
the  other  hand,  out  of  sixty-eight  vessels  due  to  arrive 
in  New  Bedford  and  Fairhaven  in  1858,  forty -four  were 
calculated  as  making  losing  voyages,  representing  an 
aggregate  loss  of  about  $i,ooo,ooo.8  And  in  187 1  the 
entire  Arctic  fleet  of  thirty-four  vessels  was  completely 
destroyed  by  pack  ice,  entailing  an  absolute  loss  of  nearly 
$2,000,000,  including  vessels  and  cost  of  outfitting.  In 
an  inelustry  subject  to  such  fluctuations,  however,  a 
rapid  decline  and  withdrawal  of  capital  was  inevitable 
as  soon  as  other  conditions  became  unfavorable. 

As  long  as  the  prio  high  and  the  demand  was 

great  and  fairly  certain,  the  chance  of  large  profits  from 
phenomenal  voyages  was  sufficient  to  tempt  continually 
increasing  investments  even  in  the  face  of  all  natural 
risks. 

In  addition  to  the  uncertainty  of  the  business,  various 
changes  had  been  at  work  to  necessitate  the  assumption  of 
greater  risks  to  carry  it  on.  The  first  vessels  whaling  in 
the  Pacific  made  voyages  in  two  or  two  and  a  half  years, 
and  their  fitting  did  not  represent  so  large  an  outlay. 
Thus  the  firsl  Pacific  whaler,  the  Beaver,  240  tons,  sail- 
ing from  Nantucket  in  1701,  represented  a  whole  cost  of 
$10,212  for  the  ship  completely  fitted  for  the  V03 
But  as  the  industry  was  pursued  with  increasing  vigor 
whales  becami  and  more  shy  each  year,  making 

it  harder  to  secure  a  full  cargo,  the  voyages  were  in- 
creased in  length  and  duration  to  three,  four  and  even 

7  Ellis,  p.  450. 

"  Starbuck,  p.  149- 


v 


74  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

more  years  each.  The  vessels  were  larger,  300  to  500 
tons  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  and  the  cost 
of  fitting  for  a  three  years  voyage  was  increased  to  $30,- 
000  to  $60,000  each.9  The  rivalry  of  different  captains 
in  trying  to  secure  the  most  luxurious  fittings  often  added 
unnecessarily  to  the  expenses  of  fitting  and  refitting. 
As  these  changes  were  going  on  the  North  Pacific  and 
especially  the  Arctic  fisheries  were  becoming  more  and 
more  the  only  profitable  cruising  grounds.  But  there 
the  danger  of  losses  was  increased  because  of  encounters 
with  the  ice,  and  every  vessel  wrecked  meant  a  greater 
financial  loss  than  before.  The  two  factors  of  uncertainty 
of  profits  and  risk  of  losses  of  whole  investments,  were 
strong  arguments  for  capital  to  seek  employment  else- 
where. 

Outside  the  fishery  itself  several  factors  were  at  work 
to  accomplish  its  downfall.  In  1849  g°ld  had  been  dis- 
covered in  California,  and  the  great  rush  to  the  gold 
fields  began.  For  years  it  had  been  the  custom  among 
the  Pacific  whalers  to  touch  at  some  Pacific  port,  either 
for  water,  to  refit,  or  to  spend  the  "between  seasons" 
when  the  northern  grounds  were  closed  by  ice.  The 
whalers  offered  an  easy  means  of  reaching  California  and 
its  gold  deposits.  Starbuck  says10  that  whole  crews  ap- 
parently shipped  merely  as  a  cheap  means  of  reaching 
the  mines,  that  desertions  from  the  ships  were  numerous, 
often  in  such  numbers  as  to  actually  cripple  the  efficiency 
of  the  ship.  "In  this  way  many  voyages  were  broken 
up  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  were  sunk  by 
the  owners.  "  Ships  were  fired  by  mutinous  crews,  some 
even  entirely  destroyed.  In  fact,  so  complete  was  the 
demoralization  of  the  fleet  that  captains  and  officers  left 
their  ships  to  seek  for  gold. 

The  rise  of  the  cotton  cloth  industry  was  also  a  potent 

8  Scammon,  p.  216. 
10  Starbuck,  p.  112. 


Decline  of  American   Whaling.  75 

factor  in  hastening  the  decline  of  whaling,  though  to 
what  extent  it  operated  is  hard  to  tell.  To  suggest  what 
might  have  happened  under  different  economic  conditions 
fifty  years  ago  may  appear  to  be  dangerous  speculation. 
Yet  had  not  the  cotton  mills  sprung  up,  it  seems  safe  to 
say  the  whaling  fleet  would  have  decreased  less  rapidly 
even  in  the  face  of  increasingly  adverse  conditions.  This 
is  especially  true  of  New  Bedford,  from  which  port  more 
than  half  the  fleet  hailed  subsequent  to  i860.  For 
many  years  the  whale  fishery  and  its  allied  industries  of 
oil  refining,  cordage  manufacture,  boat  and  ship  building 
and  such  like,  had  been  the  most  important,  almost 
the  only  important,  business  interests  in  the  city.  And 
the  capital  was  repeatedly  employed  in  the  whaling 
business  because  the  investors  had  grown  up  with  it  and 
had  come  to  accept  whaling  ventures  as  the  most  natural 
thing  in  the  world. 

About  1846,  however,  in  the  very  year  when  whaling 
reached  the  climax  of  its  glory,  the  manufacture  of  cotton 
goods  was  begun  in  New  Bedford.  Cotton  milling  was 
successful  and  profitable  almost  from  the  very  start, 
and  additional  mills  were  put  up  from  year  to  year. 
Among  the  names  of  the  early  financial  promoters  of 
cotton  manufactures  arc  many  which  had  long  been 
intimately  associated  with  the  whaling  industry.  As 
each  additional  year  meant  increasing  risks  on  invest- 
ments in  whaling,  the  surer  field  for  capital  in  the  local 
mills  must  have  inevitably  drawn  capital  away  from  the 
former  industry.  How  great  this  factor  was  can  n<  ver 
be  known,  but  that  it  was  an  important  one  seems 
unquestionable.  The  "Whalemen's  Shipping  List,"  for 
Febuary  4,  1873  says"  "The  continued  purpose  to  sell 
whalers  .  .  .  shows  the  judgment  of  those  who  have 
long  and  successfully  been  engaged  in  the  business    .    .    . 

11  "Whalemen's  Shipping  List."  Annual  Review  for  187a,  February 
4.  1873. 


j6  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

that  it  has  become  too  hazardous,  and  its  results  too  un- 
certain to  continue  it,  when  capital  is  promised  a  safer 
employment,  and  surer  rewards  in  enterprises  on  the 
land,  and  in  our  own  city  where  the  products  of  two  large 
cotton  mills  equal  very  nearly  the  aggregate  value  of  the 
imports  of  the  fishery  yearly."  In  that  year  alone  the 
records  show  that  no  less  than  twenty  vessels  were  sold 
out  of  the  whaling  fleet  because  the  business  no  longer 
warranted  the  continuance  of  the  investment.  The  mills 
at  home,  however,  meant  a  sure  income.  But  it  is  not 
altogether  unfitting  that  out  of  the  decline  of  the  great 
whaling  interests  of  New  Bedford  should  grow  the  indus- 
try, which,  above  all  others,  was  destined  to  save  the 
city  from  the  fate  of  being  a  deserted  fishing  village — the 
rise  of  the  cotton  mills. 

As  great  and  potent  as  were  all  these  factors,  however, 
the  most  important  has  yet  to  be  mentioned — the  intro- 
duction of  the  new  illuminant,  kerosene.  For  many  de- 
cades previous  to  i860  oil  had  been  the  most  valuable 
product  of  the  fishery,  and  one  of  its  chief  uses  had  been 
as  an  illuminant,  both  in  sperm  candles  and  in  the 
"whale  oil"  lamps.  Much  of  the  export  trade  had  been 
to  supply  the  European  demand  for  oil  for  lighting  pur- 
poses. Its  use  as  an  illuminant,  however,  had  been  di- 
minished early  in  the  last  century  by  the  introduction  of 
gas  distilled  from  coal.  Coal  gas  seems  to  have  been 
more  generally  adopted  in  spite  of  Scoresby's  statement12 
that  where  coal  was  not  cheap  gas  could  be  manufactured 
from  whale  oil  at  about  the  same  expense ;  and  that  hav- 
ing many  advantages  over  the  former,  it  was  preferred. 
As  early  as  181 9  Ipswich,  Norwich  and  other  towns  in 
England  lighted  their  streets  with  gas  made  from  oil. 

In  this  country  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any 
very  severe  encroachment  on  the  uses  of  whale  products 
as  illuminants  until  after  the  discovery  of  petroleum  in 

12  Scoresby,  p.  428. 


Decline  of  American  Whaling.  yy 

1859.  The  date  of  opening  the  first  oil  well  in  Pennsyl- 
vania may  be  regarded  as  the  day  when  the  fate  of  the 
whale  fishery  was  decided.  Even  in  the  face  of  the  other 
unfavorable  conditions,  the  fishery  must  certainly  have 
prospered  but  for  the  discovery  of  petroleum.  The 
population  of  the  country  was  increasing;  the  people 
would  have  had  light  without  much  regard  to  the  neces- 
sarily high  prices  of  oil,  and  the  market  demand  would 
undoubtedly  have  increased  beyond  the  supply.  At  this 
critical  time  the  Pennsylvania  oil  fields  were  discovered 
and  at  once  a  plentiful,  and  cheap  illuminant  was  in  the 
market  as  a  competitor  of  the  whale  oils.  As  soon  as  the 
processes  of  refining  were  improved,  the  disagreeable 
and  dangerous  qualities  were  no  longer  a  handicap  to 
kerosene  and  it  became  a  relentless  rival  of  the  other  oils. 
The  struggle  for  supremacy  was  fierce  but  short  and 
ended  in  the  only  way  that  it  could — in  favor  of  the 
better,  more  easily  obtained  and  then  seemingly  in- 
exhaustible kerosene.  Sperm  candles  were  dedicated  to 
ornamental  uses  and  whale  oil  lamps  were  discarded  to 
become  interesting  relics  for  succeeding  generations. 
But  the  encroachment  of  petroleum  products  on  the 
domains  formerly  monopolized  by  whale  oils  was  not  to 
end  with  superseding  the  latter  in  their  use  as  an  illum- 
inant. Kerosene  came  rapidly  into  general  use.  Th-  n 
lubricating  oils  began  to  be  made  from  the  residuum  ;  and 
finally  the  utilization  of  the  wax  or  paraffine  in  making 
candles  and  in  other  arts,  robbed  the  whale  products  of 
their  last  strongholds  in  the  markets  of  the  world. 

Just  after  the  introduction  of  petroleum  oils,  as  if  to 
make  sure  of  the  overthrow  of  whaling  prosperity,  the 
Civil  War  broke  out.  Always  adversely  affected  by 
warfare,  no  industry  was  then  less  able  to  withstand  the 
effects  of  war  than  was  the  whale  fishery.  A  large 
proportion  of  the  fleet  was  at  sea.  Many  of  the  vessels 
were  in   the  Pacific  on  voyages  of  three  or  four  years 


78  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

duration,  and  often  did  not  return  to  port  for  months  at  a 
time.  If  they  did  return  to  port  the  lying  idle  there  was 
little  better  than  risking  capture  by  Southern  privateers. 

The  Atlantic  whalers  felt  the  effects  of  war  very  early  in 
the  struggle,  Southern  privateers  capturing  vessels  as 
early  as  1862.  The  feeling  of  the  whalemen  toward  the 
Southern  depredations  is  illustrated  in  a  quotation  from 
the  "Shipping  List,"  for  January  13,  1863.  In  the  annual 
review  for  1862  it  says  "That  Southern  pirate,  Semmes, 
has  already  made  frightful  havoc  with  whaling  vessels, 
and  his  piratical  ship — the  Alabama — threatens  to  be- 
come the  scourge  of  the  seas."  These  operations  were 
carried  on  throughout  the  war,  especially  by  the  famous 
Alabama  and  the  Shenandoah.  The  latter  entered  Ber- 
ing Sea  late  in  the  war,  captured  and  burned  twenty-five 
vessels,  mainly  large  ships,  and  took  four  others  for  pur- 
poses of  transportation.13  No  less  than  fifty  whaling 
vessels  were  captured  or  destroyed  during  the  war — 
more  than  half  of  which  were  owned  by  New  Bedford 
merchants.  Many  other  vessels  were  sold — forty  to  the 
government  for  the  famous  Charleston  stone  fleet — and 
others  were  transferred  to  the  merchant  marine.  On 
January  1,  1861,  the  whaling  fleet  had  numbered  514 
vessels  with  an  aggregate  tonnage  of  158,745  tons.  Five 
years  later,  January  1,  1866,  there  were  263  vessels  with  a 
tonnage  of  68,535  tons — a  decline  of  almost  50  per  cent 
in  the  number  of  vessels  and  of  over  60  per  cent  in  the 
tonnage.  At  least  half  of  this  decline  was  the  direct 
result  of  the  war. 

At  the  end  of  the  war  the  depleted  stocks  of  whale 
products,  and  the  prevailing  high  prices  greatly  aided  in 
reviving  the  industry.  Vessels  that  had  been  lying  idle 
at  the  wharves  were  again  fitted  and  sent  out,  while  some 
new  ships  were  added  to  the  fleet.  It  seemed  as  if 
prosperity  would  once  more  smile  on  the  industry,  but 

11  Pease,  p.  31. 


Decline  of  American  Whaling.  79 

the  conditions  which  had.  been  working  against  the  fishery 
before  the  war  were  still  operating  with  renewed  vigor. 
The  merchants  were  becoming  more  wary  and  cautious  in 
their  whaling  ventures.  Then  came  the  disaster  of  1871, 
destroying  the  Arctic  fleet  of  thirty-four  vessels,  and 
though  the  Arctic  fishery  was  r<  n  w<  d  with  twenty-seven 
vessels  in  1872  and  twenty-nine  vessels  in  1873,  greatly 
increased  rates  of  insurance  were  added  to  the  already 
heavy  burden  of  the  whaling  interests. 

The  fact  that  the  whale  fishery  had  entered  upon  a 
steady  and  permanent  decline  could  no  longer  be  denied. 
The  generally  adopted  use  of  petroleum  oils  had  destroyed 
the  chief  market  for  two-thirds  of  the  products  of  the 
industry — sperm  and  whale  oil.  But  the  steadily  in- 
creasing value  of  whale  bone  was  a  powerful  incentive 
to  carry  on  the  business,  though  not  sufficient  to  stem  the 
tide.  The  decline  has  continued  almost  without  inter- 
ruption down  to  the  present  time  with  the  constant 
operation  of  the  economic  changes  by  which  the  decline 
was  induced.  From  time  to  time  there  have  been  revivals 
of  activity  as  the  result  of  temporary  advances  in  prices 
or  the  reports  of  phenomenal  voyages.  But  year  after 
year  the  decline  has  continued,  carrying  whaling  steadily 
down  toward  the  lowest  rank  of  commercial  insignificance. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Apparatus  and  Methods  of  Capture;  Boats;  Crews; 
and  Whale  Products  and  Their  Uses. 

At  first  thought  a  discussion  of  the  instruments  used 
in  whaling  seems  to  have  but  little  relation  either  to  the 
history  of  the  industry  or  to  its  various  economic  phases. 
Yet  in  the  course  of  time  the  growth  of  the  whale  fishery 
has  resulted  in  innovations  in  implements  and  methods 
which  seem  worthy  of  at  least  brief  notice.  At  other 
times  the  successful  continuation  of  the  fishery  has 
depended  largely  on  the  improvement  of  implements  of 
capture. 

The  primitive  method  of  capturing  whales  appears 
from  all  accounts  to  have  been  by  means  of  the  harpoon 
and  lance.  It  is  not  quite  clear,  however,  whether  the 
line  was  at  first  used  with  the  harpoon  to  fasten  to  the 
whale.  Some  writers  say  that  the  Indians  of  this  coun- 
try were  in  the  habit  of  capturing  whales  by  the  use  of 
wooden  harpoons  to  which  logs  of  wood  were  attached  as 
floats,  and  that  by  repeated  attacks  they  occasionally 
succeeded  in  harrying  a  whale  to  death.  It  is  also  some- 
times stated  that  the  American  colonists  followed  the  In- 
dian mode  of  capture.1  But  the  harping  iron  is  referred 
to  even  before  the  first  settlement  of  New  England.2  In 
the  first  account  of  whaling  at  Nantucket  Macy3  tells  of 
the  harpoon  being  wrought,  and  as  early  as  1669,  in  an 
account  of  whaling  ventures  from  Long  Island,  it  is  re- 
corded that  of  two  whales  attacked,  "the  iron  broke  in 

1  Scammon,  note,  p.  204. 
1  Starbuck,  p.  6. 
*  Macy,  p.   28. 


Apparatus  and  Methods  of  Capture.  81 

one,  the  other  broke  the  warpe. M<  Hence  it  seems  un- 
questionable that  long  before  whaling  became  at  all  im- 
portant as  a  regular  industry,  the  implements  used  in 
capture  had  the  essential  characteristics  of  those  that 
were  to  be  used  for  many  decades  thereafter. 

Scoresby5  says  that  as  early  as  1607  "the  harpoon 
consisted  of  a  barbed  or  arrow-shaped  iron  dart,  two  or 
three  feet  in  length  with  a  wooden  handle  and  a  line" 
thrae  hundred  fathoms  long.  The  hand  harpoon  could 
be  used  effectively  at  distances  up  to  fifteen  yards.8  With 
the  exception  of  some  small  changes  and  additions  to  the 
barbs,  and  variations  in  dimensions,  the  harpoon  is  still 
essentially  the  same  weapon  as  it  was  then.  Now,  three 
centuries  later,  the  initial  step  in  the  capture  of  a  whale 
remains  unchanged,  for  the  harpoon  has  always  been  and 
is  still  used  to  fasten  the  whale  to  the  boat.  Along  with 
the  harpoon  and  line  a  hand  lance  was  used,  it  consisting 
of  an  iron  spear  with  a  wooden  handle  ten  or  twelve 
feet  long.  These  implements  were  used  almost  exclusively 
until  well  along  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  first  change  was  in  the  introduction  of  the  harpoon 
gun  to  replace  the  old  method  of  hurling  the  harpoon 
from  the  hand.  It  was  followed  by  the  bomb  gun,  the 
darting  gun,  and  by  the  whaling  rocket,  while  the  hand 
lance  gave  place  to  the  bomb  lance.  The  whaling  or 
harpoon  gun,  intended  to  shoot  harpoons,  was  a  British 
invention  about  1730.  Its  invention  appears  to  have 
been  prompted  by  the  increasing  shyness  of  the  whales 
in  the  northern  fishery,  and  the  consequent  need  of  some 
instrument  to  facilitate  the  capture.  Beginning  with 
the  year  1700  the  whales  had  almost  abandoned  the 
shore  grounds  previously  frequented  and  had  retreated 
to  the  sheltered  situations  afforded  by  the  ice  Melds.7 

4  Quoted  by  Starbuck  from  N.  Y.  Col.  Record,  III,  p.  183. 
1  Scoresby.  p,    173 

8  Maey,  p.  2  jo. 
7  Scoiesby,  p.  181. 


82  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

But  the  old  whalers  were  reluctant  to  adopt  the  gun  and 
it  apparently  fell  entirely  out  of  use  for  Scoresby  says,8 
'  'The  method  of  shooting  harpoons  .  .  .  from  a  sort 
of  swivel-gun,  was,  in  the  year  1772,  reintroduced.  In- 
deed this  instrument  had  been  so  long  laid  aside,  that 
the  present  was  considered  a  new  discovery."  And  the 
inventor  was  given  a  premiun  of  twenty  guineas  by  the 
Society  of  Arts.  These  early  harpoon  guns  were  heavy 
swivel-guns,  mounted  in  the  bow  of  the  whale  boat. 
Their  chief  advantage  was  in  the  power  to  launch  the 
harpoon  at  distances  as  great  as  eighty -four  yards.9  The 
weight  of  the  line  attached  to  the  harpoon,  however,  de- 
flected the  missile  to  a  serious  extent.  The  gun  was  first 
used  by  Scotch  whalers.10  It  was  occasionally  used  by 
Americans  but  never  came  into  general  use.  The  Amer- 
ican whaler  preferred  the  later  "shoulder  guns"  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  they  often  fired  "  aft "  with  more  emphasis 
than  they  did  forward.11 

Shoulder  guns  were  an  American  invention ;  meeting 
the  demand  for  a  weapon  to  kill  the  whale  as  well  as  to 
fasten  it  to  the  boat.  They  appear  to  have  been  intro- 
duced at  about  the  same  time  as  the  bomb  lance.  The 
whaling  gun12  was  invented  and  introduced  into  the 
market  about  1850.  From  that  year  onward  advertise- 
ments appear  in  the  "Whalemen's  Shipping  List"  setting 
forth  the  superior  qualities  of  this  new  instrument  for 
killing  whales.  The  American  guns  were  of  two  sorts, 
the  plain  bomb  gun  and  the  so-called  darting  gun.  Their 
invention  seems  to  have  been  prompted  by  the  same 
conditions  that  led  to  the  English  invention  of  1730 — 
the  pressing  need  for  improved  facilities  for  killing  the 
whales. 


'  Scoresby,  p.  79. 
'  Scammon,  p.   27. 

10  Scammon,  p.  226. 

11  Goode,  p.  252. 

11  Ellis:  History  of  New  Bedford,  p.  419. 


Apparatus  and  Methods  of  Capture.  83 

In  1846  one  Robert  Allen  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  invented 
the  first  bomb  lance,  to  kill  whales  by  explosives  instead 
of  by  the  old  hand  lance  thrust  into  the  vital  parts  of  the 
whale.13  Used  with  a  bomb  gun,  firing  the  missile  from 
greater  distances,  the  bomb  lance  became  a  much  more 
effective  means  of  killing  whales  than  had  ever  before 
been  available.  There  have  been  several  types  of  bomb 
lances  and  bomb  guns.  Of  the  latter  some  of  the  best 
known  are  the  original  muzzle-loading  "Brand"  gun, 
the  Pierce  &  Eggers  gun — probably  the  most  popular  and 
effective  gun  ever  introduced,  and  the  Cunningham  and 
Cogan  gun,  largely  used  by  the  steam  whaling  vessels  in 
the  Arctic  regions. H  With  these  guns  bomb  lances  of 
varying  sizes  are  used,  a  common  length  being  about 
twenty-one  inches,  while  the  diameter  and  the  size  of  the 
charge  depends  on  the  particular  gun  employed. 

The  increasing  scarcity  and  shyness  of  whales,  combined 
with  the  desire  for  sure  and  more  ready  means  of  killing 
whales,  resulted  in  the  invention  of  the  whaling  gun  and 
bomb  lance.  In  the  same  way  the  exigencies  of  Arctic 
whaling  led  to  still  further  perfection  of  whaling  imple- 
ments. After  the  introduction  of  the  bomb  lance  it  had 
been  the  custom15  to  fasten  to  the  whale  with  the  harpoon, 
and  then  from  a  safe  distance  to  kill  it  with  a  bomb  lance. 
Hand  lancing  had  almost  gone  out  of  practice  by  1875.19 

By  that  time,  however,  Arctic  whaling  had  become 
important  and  profitable.  The  great  baleen  or  bowhead 
whale  gave  excellent  bone  as  well  as  oil  that  was  next  in 
quality  to  sperm  oil.  But  when  fastened  to  with  a 
common  harpoon  the  whales  might  succeed  in  getting 
under  the  ice  1  was  any  chance  to  kill  trum, 

even  with  the  bomb  gun.  As  a  result,  many  valuable 
whales,  as  well  as  much  fishing  apparatus  was  lost .     The 

13  Goode,  p.  253. 

14  Goode,  p.  253. 
11  Goode,  p.  254. 

"  Scammon,  p.  228. 


84  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

darting  gun  was  invented  about  1880,  expressely  to  meet 
the  needs  of  this  fishery,  by  Captain  Eben  Pierce  and 
Mr.  Patrick  Cunningham  of  New  Bedford.17  The  gun 
consists  of  a  stockless  barrel,  of  gun  metal,  attached  to  a 
regular  wooden  harpoon  pole.  A  harpoon  with  whale 
line  attached  fits  loosely  in  lugs  on  the  side  of  the  barrel. 
The  apparatus  is  loaded  with  a  charge  of  powder  and  a 
bomb  lance  and  then  the  whole  is  darted  at  the  whale. 
The  harpoon  entering  the  whale's  body  springs  the  trigger, 
which  appears  as  a  long  wire  rod  projecting  beyond  the 
muzzle  of  the  gun,  and  the  bomb  lance  is  automatically 
discharged  into  the  whale.  Under  ordinary  circum- 
stances the  whale  is  killed  or  severely  wounded  by  the 
explosion  of  the  bomb,  at  the  same  time  that  it  is  fastened 
to  the  boat  by  the  harpoon  and  line.  In  this  way  whales 
are  rarely  lost.  Were  it  not  for  the  darting  gun,  however, 
whaling  could  not  be  successfully  carried  on  amid  the 
Arctic  ice  packs,  now  the  most  important  whaling 
ground  for  the  American  fleet.18 

The  most  destructive  weapon  ever  used  in  killing  whales 
is  the  whaling  rocket,  invented  about  1880.  It  consists 
of  a  large  rocket,  harpoon  and  bomb  lance,  having  a  total 
weight  of  about  eighteen  or  twenty  pounds.  It  was 
intended  to  be  fired  from  the  deck  of  the  whaling  vessel 
itself,  thus  doing  away  with  the  necessity  of  pursuit  in 
boats.  But  as  far  as  records  go  the  rocket  does  not 
appear  to  have  come  into  very  general  use.  — ■ 

Aside  from  these  regular  whaling  implements,  nets, 
electricity  and  poisoned  harpoons  have  been  advanced  as 
experiments  in  capturing  whales.  Scoresby  in  writing  of 
the  methods  of  capture  at  the  opening  of  the  seventeenth 
century  says,19  "The  Dutch  inform  us  that  the  English 
made  use  of  nets  made  of  strong  ropes  for  the  purpose." 

17  Goode,  p.  254. 

18  For  a  more  detailed  discussion  of  this  gun  see  Goode,  p.  254,  or 
Scammon,  p.  228. 

"  Scoresby,  p.  173. 


Apparatus  and  Methods  of  Capture.  85 

But  there  is  no  reference  to  their  use  in  later  years.  In 
this  country  nets  of  strong  manila  twine  were  tried  at  the 
mouths  of  the  rivers  emptying  into  Cumberland  Inlet. 20 
At  one  setting  500  white  whales  or  grampuses  were 
captured  and  killed.  Other  experiments  were  tried  in 
the  same  year  and  the  year  following,  but  the  scheme  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  satisfactory  to  the  promoters,  for 
it  was  abandoned. 

In  1852  the  United  States  patent  office  granted  a 
patent  on  a  whaling  apparatus  which  was  to  employ 
electricity.  It  consisted  of  a  wired  harpoon  to  be  used 
from  a  copper  sheathed  boat,  making  a  circuit  from  the 
generating  machine  in  the  boat  through  the  wire,  whale, 
water  and  boat  to  the  machine  again,  The  device  was 
calculated  to  facilitate  the  killing  of  whales  by  electrocu- 
tion as  soon  as  struck  by  the  harpoon.21  But  as  far  as  is 
known  it  was  never  used,  though  one  author  says,"  "In 
185 1  the  first  experiments  in  killing  whales  by  electricity 
were  tried . ' ' 

The  use  of  harpoons  poisoned  with  prussic  acid  is 
variously  attributed  to  the  French  and  to  the  Scotch,  and 
it  is  also  claimed  that  it  was  never  used  by  the  American 
whalemen.  Goode23  states  that  as  early  as  1833  Nan- 
tucket whalemen  went  equipped  with  poisoned  harpoons, 
but  that  they  were  not  used,  as  the  crew  "were  frightened 
by  reports  concerning  the  death  of  men  from  handling 
poisoned  blubber."  Such  news  spread  rapidly  through 
the  whale  fleet  and  suddenly  brought  to  an  end  a  practice 
which,  almost  beyond  doubt,  must  have  proved  a  very 
effective  means  of  killing  whales. 

The  boats  and  vessels  engaged  in  the  whaling  fleet  have 
also  undergone  marked  changes  since  the  fishery  began. 

10  Goode,  pp.  247-248. 
,l  Goode,  p.  250. 
"  Ellis,  p.  420. 
"  Goode,  p.   248. 


86  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

In  the  whaleboats  themselves  the  two  centuries  of  Ameri- 
can deep-sea  whaling  have  witnessed  little  change.  They 
are  still  the  same  round-bottomed  type,  pointed  at  both 
ends,  to  facilitate  movement  either  forward  or  backward, 
and  propelled  both  by  oars  and  sails.  About  the  only 
change  has  been  in  size,  increasing  from  a  length  of 
twenty  feet,  about  1720,  to  an  average  of  about  twenty- 
eight  feet  at  present,  though  whaleboats  as  long  as 
thirty -eight  feet  have  been  used  at  times.24  They  are 
usually  made  of  white  oak,  cedar,  spruce  or  hard  pine, 
weigh  about  500-600  pounds  and  cost  upwards  of  $100 
each.  They  are  the  most  seaworthy  small  craft  known, 
yet  their  usage  is  so  severe  that  they  usually  last  but  a 
single  voyage. 

Launches  propelled  by  steam  were  first  introduced  into 
the  Norwegian  whale  fishery,  with  guns  mounted  on  deck 
to  throw  the  projectiles.25  And  about  1880  American 
whalers  tried  the  experiment  of  using  whaling  rockets 
from  steam  launches.  The  noise  made  by  power  boats, 
however,  is  a  disadvantage,  and  launches,  wherever 
employed,  have  been  used  mainly  to  tow  whaling  boats 
near  the  whales,  to  aid  in  approach  during  calms  when 
sails  are  useless  and  to  tow  dead  whales  to  the  vessel. 
So  far  as  is  known  no  launches  are  at  present  employed  by 
the  whaling  fleet.26 

The  whaling  vessel  has  undergone  a  marked  evolution 
since  the  beginning  of  deep-sea  whaling  about  1 7 1 5 .  The 
earliest  vessels  fitted  for  whaling  "out  in  the  deep"  were 
sloops  of  thirty  to  forty  tons  burden.27  The  size  was 
gradually  increased  to  fifty,  sixty  and  seventy  tons, 
as  the  industry  grew  and  voyages  were  made  longer ;  and, 
probably,  by  1730,  schooners  had  been  added.     The  next 

24  Goode,  p.  240. 
"  Goode,  p.  246. 

"Letter    of    Mr.    George  R     Phillips,    editor   of    the  "Whalemen's 
Shipping  List." 
37  Macy,  p.  49. 


Apparatus  and  Methods  of  Capture.  87 

step  appears  to  have  been  about  twenty  years  later,  for  in 
writing  of  Nantucket  whaling  in  the  period  about  1750, 
Macy  says,23  "They  began  now  to  employ  vessels  of  larger 
size,  some  of  100  tons  burden,  and  a  few  were  square 
rigged."  At  that  time  Nantucket  was  leading  in  every- 
thing that  pertained  to  the  whale  fishery,  hence  the 
growth  of  the  Nantucket  fleet  may  be  regarded  as  typical 
of  all.  For  over  a  century  thereafter  the  changes  in 
whaling  vessels  were  almost  solely  in  size.  In  17  91  the 
Pacific  fishery  was  opened,  and  immediately  the  longer 
voyages  and  the  desire  for  larger  cargoes  led  to  the 
employment  of  bigger  vessels.  The  first  Nantucket  ship 
sailing  to  the  Pacific,  1791,  was  of  240  tons  burden.29 
By  1820  Nantucket  had  seventy-two  ships  averaging 
over  280  tons  each.30  Ships,  brigs  and  barks  now  rapidly 
came  to  predominate  in  the  whaling  fleet,  and  before 
1850  vessels  of  400  to  500  tons  burden  were  not  unusual. 
It  has  already  been  seen  how  the  development  of 
Arctic  whaling  resulted  in  important  modifications  in 
the  nature  and  quantity  of  the  whaling  apparatus.  It 
extended  in  a  similar  way  to  the  construction  of  the  ships, 
for  the  encounters  with  the  ice  necessitated  even  more 
sturdy  and  substantial  vessels  than  had  ever  before  been 
used.  As  Arctic  whaling  became  more  common  it  was 
soon  found  of  prime  importance  to  enter  and  leave  the 
ice-frequented  regions  with  the  least  possible  delay. 
For  nearly  fifty  years  steam  vessels  had  been  used  in  the 
merchant  marine  of  this  country  and  of  England.  The 
application  of  steam  to  whaling  vessels  suggested  the 
possibility  of  a  quicker  voyage  to  the  whaling  grounds, 
greater  facility  in  cruising  for  whales  among  the  ice 
floes,  and  a  longer  stay  with  less  danger  of  being  caught  in 
the  pack  ice  as  winter  sets  in.  In  1880  the  first  si  earn 
propelled  vessel  used  in  the  American  whale  fishi  ry  was 

58  Macy,  p    '14. 

w  Macy,  p.  2i 

'°  Starbuck,  p.  05. 


88  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

added  to  the  New  Bedford  fleet.31  The  voyage  was 
very  successful,  securing  in  one  season  a  cargo  valued  at 
$ioo,ooo,  and  fully  demonstrating  the  practicability  of 
using  steam  in  the  whaling  fleet. 

It  seems  strange,  however,  that  the  experiment  had  not 
been  tried  before,  for  the  English  had  sent  out  a  steam 
whaler  to  Davis  Strait  as  early  as  1857.32  The  experi- 
ment proved  so  advantageous  that  new  wooden  steam 
vessels  were  built  and  old  vessels  were  converted,  so  that 
in  1869  the  whole  Dundee  fleet  was  composed  of  screw 
steamers — ten  vessels  in  all.33  The  explanation  for  the 
American  tardiness  probably  lies  in  the  decline  of  Ameri- 
can ship  building,  then  just  beginning,  and  especially  in 
its  almost  total  suspension  immediately  after  the  Civil 
War.  The  first  steam  whaler  wTas  soon  followed  by  others 
and  the  catch  was  temporarily  increased  by  the  new 
methods.  Now  the  fleet  of  steam  whalers  is  one  of  the 
most  important  in  the  whole  fishery. 

The  vessels  comprising  the  fleet  during  the  last  two 
decades  may  be  divided  into  the  two  classes,  sailing  vessels 
and  steamers.  The  sailing  vessels  are  mainly  schooners 
and  square  rigged  vessels,  no  sloops  having  been  employed 
for  many  years.  The  schooners  cruise  chiefly  in  the 
Atlantic  grounds  and  the  others  are  engaged  in  the  Pacific. 
The  steam  vessels  are  almost  without  exception  entirely 
engaged  in  Arctic  whaling  from  San  Francisco  as  their 
port. 

The  size  of  the  fleet  at  present  is,  of  course,  but  a  mere 
fraction  of  what  it  was  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago.  It  is  only 
natural,  therefore,  to  wonder  what  became  of  the  hundreds 
of  ships  which  were  once  engaged  in  the  whale  fishery. 
Probably  the  greatest  number  would  be  accounted  for  by 
wrecks  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  For  example,  in  the 
autumn  of  1871  a  sudden  setting  in  of  the  pack  ice  de- 

31  Ellis,  p.  433. 

52  Goode,  p.  237. 

83  Simmonds :  Animal  Products,  p.   369. 


Apparatus  and  Methods  of  Capture.  89 

stroyed  thirty -four  ships,  the  whole  Arctic  fleet,  in  the 
greatest  disaster  known  in  the  history  of  whaling." 
Again,  in  1876,  twelve  vessels  were  destroyed  in  almost 
exactly  the  same  way.  Forty  whalers  went  to  make  up  a 
part  of  the  famous  stone  fleet  sunk  by  the  United  States 
government  in  the  attempt  to  blockade  Charleston  harbor 
during  the  Civil  War.  Many  of  the  whaling  vessels  were 
sold  at  different  times  into  the  merchant  marine,  or  were 
withdrawn  from  service  and  broken  up  in  various  ports. 
And  finally  a  good  many  vessels  were  destroyed  at  sea 
by  Confederate  cruisers  during  the  Civil  War;  while  these 
different  causes  were  at  work  to  decrease  the  fleet,  every 
year  after  i860  saw  fewer  and  fewer  new  vessels  added  to 
replace  the  loss. 

The  crew  of  a  whaler  varies  in  size  and  personnel 
according  to  the  number  of  boats  carried.  An  average 
complement  consists  of  a  mate,  a  boat  steerer  and  four  or 
five  seamen  for  each  whale  boat,  in  addition  to  the  cap- 
tain, cooper,  carpenter,  cook,  steward  and  often  black- 
smith and  cabin  boys.  Thus  a  ship  carrying  four  boats 
would  have  a  crew  of  about  thirty-two  men. 

At  first  the  colonial  whaling  vessels  were  manned 
almost  entirely  by  colonists  and  Indians.  But  as  the 
fishery  grew,  and  the  number  of  vessels  increased,  the 
supply  of  hands  was  inadequate.  As  early  as  about, 
1750  the  Nantucket  fishery  had  attained  such  proportions 
that  it  was  necessary  to  secure  men  from  Cape  Cod  and 
Long  Island  to  man  the  vessels.35  Less  than  a  century 
later  the  crews  were  made  up  of  representatives  of  all 
nations,  while  only  the  principal  officers  wire  Amer- 
icans.8" Go<<  "Captain  Isaiah  West,  now  eighty- 
six  years  of  e,  in  1880),  tell  me  that  he  remembers 
when  lie  picked  his  crew  within  a  radius  of  sixty  miles  of 

34  Starbuck,  p.   103. 

M  Macy,  p.  61. 

**  Scammon,  p.  255. 


90  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

New  Bedford;  oftentimes  he  was  acquainted,  either  per- 
sonally or  through  report,  with  the  social  standing  or  busi- 
ness qualifications  of  every  man  on  his  vessel;  and  also 
that  he  remembers  the  first  foreigner — an  Irishman — that 
shipped  with  him,  the  circumstance  being  commented 
on  at  that  time  as  a  remarkable  one."37  The  Spanish, 
Portuguese,  Dutch,  Swedish,  Norwegian,  English,  Scotch, 
Irish,  in  fact  men  of  almost  every  country  in  Europe, 
from  Africa  and  Asia,  from  the  Sandwich  Islands,  from 
New  Zealand  and  other  Pacific  islands,  were  to  be  found 
in  the  whaling  fleet  during  the  days  of  its  greatest  pros- 
perity. After  the  development  of  deep-sea  whaling  the 
vessels  made  a  quite  general  practice  of  touching  at  the 
Azores  or  Cape  Verde  Islands  to  obtain  supplies  and 
complete  their  crews,  if  full  crews  had  not  been  shipped 
at  the  home  port.38 

The  great  variety  of  nationalities  represented  in  the 
fleet  gave  the  whaling  ports,  and  especially  New  Bedford, 
a  foreign  air,  for  more  or  less  of  the  foreigners  were  in 
port  the  greater  part  of  the  time.  In  fact  a  part  of 
New  Bedford  near  the  south  end  of  Water  Street  became 
known  locally  as  Fayal,  from  the  large  number  of  Portu- 
guese, from  that  and  other  ports,  living  in  the  vicinity.39 
Even  at  the  present  day  the  mere  casual  observer  on  the 
street  can  not  fail  to  notice  the  unmistakable  sturdy 
figure  and  swarthy  skin  of  the  "Western  Islanders," 
making  an  important  element  in  the  population. 

It  is  still  true  that  the  Americans  in  the  whaling  fleet 
are  generally  the  officers,  while  the  crews  are  made  up  of 
the  different  nationalities  of  foreigners.  So  great  has 
been  the  change  in  the  industry  where  once  "New  Eng- 
land's best  sons  were  trained." 

Sometimes  the  men  in  the  crew  have  been  paid  regular 
wages  at  so  much  per  month,  but  the  more  common 

37  Goode,  p.  220. 

38  Scammon,  note,  p.  255. 

39  Ricketscn,  p.  55. 


Apparatus  and  Methods  of  Capture.  91 

custom  has  always  been  the  famous  "lay,"  or  certain 
share  in  the  proceeds  of  the  voyage.  This  system,  as 
applied  to  the  crews  of  whaling  vessels,  matured  late  in 
the  eighteenth  century.  But  in  reality  it  was  nothing 
new,  being  rather  only  an  adaptation  of  the  co-operative 
system  of  shore  whaling  in  vogue  at  the  eastern  end  of 
Long  Island  as  far  back  as  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  The  prices  of  oil  and  bone  were  generally 
agreed  upon  before  the  voyage  began,  and  were  placed 
low  enough  to  give  a  safe  magrin  of  profit  above  any 
ordinary  fluctuation  in  the  market.  Average  "lays" 
varied  from  about  iV  for  the  captain  to  as  little  as  its  for 
a  green  foremast  hand.  Of  the  system  of  "lay"  wages, 
Weeden40  says,  it  was  "The  best  co-operation  of  capital, 
capitalizer  and  laborer  ever  accomplished."  But  so  far 
as  the  laborer — the  ordinary  seaman — was  concerned, 
the  system  was  not  so  perfect.  It  was  not  at  all  unusual 
for  the  foremast  hand  to  receive  as  little  as  two  or  three 
dollars,  sometimes  nothing  at  all,  as  his  share.  True 
it  is  that  there  had  been  advances  during  the  voyage, 
but  at  best  the  total  return  was  exceedingly  small  when 
one  considers  the  dangers  and  hardships,  the  poor  food 
and  confined  quarters  on  shipboard  for  voyages  of  often 
three  or  four  years'  duration.  Former  whalemen  state 
that  even  on  a  lay  of  -1i-7,  their  share  of  the  proceeds  from 
an  eighteen  months  voyage  was  seldom  more  than  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  All  they  received  in  addition 
was  their  food,  and  food  of  such  a  character  that  they 
"would  not  have  touched  it  at  home."  A  "lay"  of  tt? 
in  a  cargo  valued  at  Si 00,000  is  only  $572.  Divide  this 
figure  by  three  or  even  two,  representing  the  years  ordi- 
narily taken  by  such  a  voyage,  and  the  disproportion 
between  the  risk  and  the  return  appears  at  once.  Fur- 
thermore, the  cargo  worth  $100,000  was  not  very  common. 
Deep-sea  whaling  began  from  Nantucket  about    1715 

40  Weeden:  Econ.  and  Soc.  History  of  New  England,  Vol.  I,  p.  430. 


92  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

with  sloops  of  thirty  to  forty  tons  going  to  the  "  South- 
ward, "  and  later  to  the  Grand  Banks.  By  1850  ships  of 
400  to  500  tons  were  whaling  in  the  Arctic  beyond  Bering 
Strait.  Between  these  two  dates  many  grounds  were 
frequented,  soon  exhausted  and  abandoned  for  others. 
The  principal  whaling  grounds  have  been  taken  from 
Scammon  as  follows  :41  For  sperm  whales  in  the  Atlantic 
the  order  of  occupation  was  approximately  as  follows: 
Carolina  coasts,  Bahamas,  West  Indies.  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
Caribbean  Sea,  Azores,  Cape  Verde  Islands,  and  the 
coast  of  Africa.  In  the  Pacific  Ocean  the  order  was: 
South  American  coast — Chili  and  Peru,  west  to  Juan 
Fernandez  Island  and  the  Galapagos  group,  known  as  the 
on-shore  ground;  off-shore  ground,  lying  between 
longitudes  900  and  1200  west  and  latitudes  50  and  io° 
south ;  about  the  different  groups  of  islands,  as  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  the  Fiji,  Society  and  Navigator  groups; 
in  the  China  Sea  and  along  the  Japan  coasts ;  the  Cali- 
fornia coast,  and  the  northwest  coast  of  America.  In 
the  Indian  Ocean,  Madagascar,  mouth  of  the  Red  Sea, 
Java,  Malacca  Straits,  and  into  the  Pacific  about  Austra- 
lia, Tasmania  and  New  Zealand.  Practically  all  these 
sperm  whaling  grounds  are  in  warm  latitudes,  either 
tropical  or  temperate,  while  the  right  whaling  grounds 
will  be  seen  to  lie  generally  in  colder  regions.  The  north- 
ern grounds  for  right  whales  included  the  Atlantic  coast 
from  Newfoundland  to  the  Bahamas.  Davis  Straits, 
the  coast  of  Greenland,  about  Spitzbergen,  Baffin's 
Bay  and  Hudson's  Bay.  In  the  Pacific,  the  northwest 
coast  of  America,  including  Bering  Sea,  the  coast  of 
Kamtchatka,  in  Okhotsk  Sea,  Japan  Sea,  and  through 
Bering  Strait  into  the  Arctic  Ocean  were  the  places  most 
frequented.  The  southern  grounds  included,  in  the  Atlan- 
tic, the  Brazil  Banks,  the  coast  of  Africa,  the  coast  of 
Patagonia,  and  about  the  various  island  .groups,  as  the 

41  Scammon,  p.  214-215. 


Apparatus  and  Methods  of  Capture.  93 

Falklands,  Tristan  d'Acunha,  etc.,  and  in  the  Pacific 
the  coast  of  Chili,  Australia  and  New  Zealand.  Many  of 
these  grounds  included  great  stretches  of  ocean  within 
which  the  favorite  feeding  grounds  were  found.  Most  of 
them  were  long  since  abandoned  because  of  the  practical 
extermination  of  the  whal 

It  is  difficult  to  tell  the  precise  date  when  each  of  the 
different  whaling  grounds  was  first  visited,  but  the  dates 
of  the  more  important  advances  are  preserved  in  the 
records.  Previous  to  1791  all  the  whaling  was  confined 
to  the  Atlantic,  and  until  about  1773  or  1774  it  had  b^  n 
wholly  in  the  North  Atlantic.42  In  1791  the  first  whaling 
vessels  went  to  the  Pacific — six  from  Nantucket  and  one 
from  New  Bedford.43  The  "on-shore"  grounds  were 
the  only  ones  visited  for  a  number  of  years.  The  "off- 
shore" grounds  were  visited  about  1818,44  and  within 
three  years  over  fifty  ships  were  cruising  in  that  region. 
In  1820  the  first  vessels  sailed  for  the  Japanese  coast,  and 
by  1822  between  thirty  and  forty  vessels  were  whaling 
there.45  From  that  time  on  the  whalers  spread  rapidly 
to  all  parts  of  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans.  In  1835 
whaling  was  begun  by  a  Nantucket  vessel  on  the  great 
ground  along  the  northwest  coast.46  And  in  1848  a 
Sag  Harbor  whaler  passed  through  Bering  Strait  into  the 
Arctic,47  thus  completing  the  last  stage  of  advance  in  the 
pursuit  of  whales.  As  early  as  1835  the  Nantucket  fleet 
went  mainly  to  the  Pacific,  and  after  1840  it  went  almost 
entirely  to  those  grounds,  while  before  1850  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  New  Bedford  fleet  had  followed  this  ex- 
ample. Since  that  time  the  Arctic  grounds  have  been 
frequented  each  year  by  an  increasing  proportion  of  the 

17  Mary,  p.   54. 
43  Starbuck,  p.  90. 
**  Macy,  p.  217 
45  Macy.  p.  2 18. 
*'  Scammon,  p.  212. 
4'  Starbuck,  p.  qq. 


94  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

fleet,  though  for  the  last  decade  or  two  there  have 
still  been  some  vessels  cruising  in  the  North  Pacific  in 
addition  to  a  small  fleet  from  New  Bedford,  Province- 
town  and  an  occasional  other  port,  sperm  whaling  on  the 
old  grounds  in  the  Atlantic.48 

The  chief  products  of  the  whale  fishery  are,  as  is  well 
known,  sperm  and  whale  oil  and  whalebone,  with  the 
occasional  product  ambergris.  Up  to  about  i860  sperm 
oil  was  the  most  valuable  and  most  important  of  the 
whale  products.  It  comes  solely  from  the  sperm  whale, 
a  large  whale  yielding  as  much  as  100  barrels  of  oil,49 
about  one  third  of  the  total  coming  from  the  head. 
Much  of  the  annual  importation  of  sperm  oil  was  formerly 
consumed  in  the  manufacture  of  sperm  candles.  At 
present  its  chief  use  is  in  making  refined  oils  for  lubricat- 
ing. Whale  oil  includes  the  oil  from  all  other  varieties 
of  whales,  as  well  as  oil  from  the  blackfish,  the  porpoise 
and  even  the  walrus.  It  was  formerly  much  used  as  an 
illuminant  in  the  old-fashioned  vile-smelling,  "whale  oil '' 
lamp,  but  it  is  now  chiefly  used  in  the  tanning  of  leather, 
in  the  preparation  of  coarse  woolen  cloths,  in  the  manu- 
factures of  soft  soaps,  and  of  coarse  paints  and  varnishes 
where  it  gives  a  strength  of  "body"  more  resistent  to 
weather  than  do  vegetable  oils ;  with  tar  it  is  used  in  ship 
work,  making  cordage  and  other  industrial  processes ;  but 
perhaps  its  most  important  use  is  in  making  heavy  lubri- 
cating oils.  It  is  worth  about  two-thirds  as  much  as 
sperm  oil.  Since  the  opening  of  the  Arctic  fishery  a  large  X 
part  of  the  whale  oil  has  come  from  the  right  whale — 
some  of  which  yield  as  much  as  230  barrels  of  oil.50  The 
refuse  of  whales  has  also  at  times  been  used  in  making 
glue  and  in  fertilizers  under  the  name  of  guano. 

^Fish.  Comm.  Rep..  1891,  p.  clxxiii.      "Whalemen's  Shipping  List," 
Annual  Reviews,  1 880-1 906. 
a  Macy,  p.  221. 
50  Macy,  p.  223. 


Apparatus  and  Methods  of  Capture.  95 

In  the  early  days  of  whaling,  in  fact  for  many  years 
after  deep  sea  whaling  was  begun,  both  the  trying  out  of 
oil  from  the  blubber  and  the  refining  was  done  on  shore. 
Later  trying  out  was  done  on  board  the  vessels  and  the 
oil  was  brought  back  ready  for  the  refineries.  In  the 
refining  processes  the  oil  is  first  heated  to  make  the 
pieces  of  blubber  and  foreign  matter  settle.  The  clear 
oil  is  then  subjected  to  a  freezing  process  which  partly 
granulates  it.  The  freezing  is  followed  by  straining 
through  cloths  and  subjection  to  pressure  to  separate  the 
solid  matter  or  "  foots  "—spermaceti  from  sperm  oil  and 
whale's  foot  from  whale  oil.  The  various  grades  of  oil 
are  then  obtained  by  heating,  pressing  and  the  addition 
of  chemicals  to  clarify  and  bleach  them.  Oils  for  deli- 
cate mechanisms,  as  for  watches  and  clocks,  are  com- 
monly made  from  porpoise  jaw  and  blackfish  head  oils, 
the  process  of  refining  these  oils  requiring  about  two 
years.51 

The  spermaceti  representing  the  "foot"  of  sperm  oil  is 
carefully  separated  and  subjected  to  processes  of  refin- 
ing by  itself.  In  its  final  form  it  appears  as  a  white, 
translucen;  crystalline  mass52 — which  in  the  manufacture 
of  sperm  candles  was  usually  mixed  with  beeswax  to 
prevent  granulation. 

Whalebone  is  now  the  most  important  product  of  the 
whale  fishery.  It  comes  from  the  baleen  or  right  whale, 
or  from  the  rorqual,  more  commonly  known  as  the  "sul- 
phur bottom."  The  bone  occurs  as  a  series  of  plates  or 
blades,  several  hundred  in  number,  and  varying  up  to 
fifteen  feet  in  length,  which  are  suspend*  d  from  the  s; 
of  the  crown  bone  and  hang  down  on  each  side  of  the 
tongue.  The  value  of  the  bone  lies  in  the  fact  that  win  n 
softened  with  hot  water,  or  by  heating  befor<  a  fire,  it  lias 
the  property  of  retaining  any  given  shape,  providi  d  it  is 


M  Ellis,  p.  470. 

62  Simmonds,  p.  389-390. 


96  A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

secured  in  the  required  form  until  cold.53  The  prepara- 
tion of  the  bone  consists  of  boiling  it  in  hot  water  for 
several  hours,  which  makes  it  soft  when  hot  and  harder 
when  cold.  The  surface  is  then  cleaned  and  polished, 
while  the  jet  black  color,  usually  seen,  is  the  result  of  a 
dyeing  process.54 

Though  now  so  precious,  it  was  only  a  century  ago  that 
tli  •  bone  was  often  dumped  over  the  ship's  side  as  so 
much  waste  or  was  saved  by  the  sailors  only  for  making 
curious  knick-knacks  during  their  leisure  hours.55  As 
late  as  1830  bone  had  only  just-  reached  a  price  of  over 
t\  ■<.  nty  cents  per  pound,  but  as  its  value  was  recognized 
and  the  demand  increased  the  price  rose  steadily  and 
has  continued  to  do  so  up  to  the  present  time. 

Whalebone  appears  to  have  found  its  first  use  in 
women's  stays,56  and  later  in  parasols  and  umbrellas,  in  all 
of  which  uses  it  was  subsequently  largely  replaced  by 
steel.  At  various  times  it  has  been  used  by  milliners,  in 
upholstery,  as  the  framework  for  trunks  and  traveling 
bags,  in  fishing  rods,  driving  whips,  shafts,  springs  and 
wheels  of  carriages,  etc.,  while  the  coarse  hair  on  the 
bone  has  often  been  used  as  a  substitute  for  curled  hair  in 
upholstering  furniture.  Various  substitutes,  either  nat- 
ural or  artificial,  have  largely  supplanted  the  other 
whale  products,  anel  in  some  degree  bone  has  been  re- 
placed by  steel,  celluloid,  rattan,  etc.,  but  no  material  has 
b  en  found  which  will  answer  all  its  purposes.  It  is  for- 
tunate that  this  is  so,  for  without  the  demand  for  whale- 
bone the  whale  fishery  would  almost  certainly  disappear. 
The  consumption  of  whalebone  at  present,  both  in  this 
country  and  in  Europe,  is  confined  largely  to  the  original 
use — in  corsets  and  in  stays  for  dresses. 

Ambergris,  the  only  other  product  of  the  whale  fishery, 

63  Scoresby,  p.  435. 
"  Simmonds,  p.  389. 
45  Pease,  p.  32. 
58  Scoresby,  p.  436. 


Apparatus  and  Methods  of  Capture.  97 

is  a  secretion  from  the  intestines  of  the  sperm  whale,  and 
is  generally  regarded  as  the  result  of  disease.  It  is 
occasionally  found  floating  at  sea  or  is  picked  up  along 
the  shore,  but  more  often  it  is  extracted  from  the  whale 
itself.  Ambergris  is  comparatively  rare,  being  worth 
more  than  its  weight  in  gold.  Its  chief  use  is  in  the 
preparation  of  fine  perfumeries,  because  of  its  property 
of  thoroughly  and  permanently  uniting  the  different 
ingredients. 

From  the  very  nature  of  its  occurrence  there  is  no  regu- 
lar supply  of  ambergris  and  the  quantity  imported  is 
usually  very  limited.  In  this  connection,  however,  it 
is  interesting  to  note  an  item  by  Simmonds57  who  says 
"  Strangely  enough  this  substance  is  brought  to  Mogador 
(in  northern  Morocco)  in  considerable  quantities  by  the 
Timbuctoo  caravans  from  the  interior  of  Africa,  it  prob- 
ably finding  its  way  there  from  the  west  coast.  At 
Mogador  it  sells53  for  about  £20  per  pound.  Most  of  the 
well-to-do  Moors  have  ambergris  in  their  houses  and  they 
use  it  in  green  tea  as  a  flavoring,  one  of  the  greatest 
compliments  to  a  guest  is  to  present  him  with  a  cup  of 
this  strange  mixture."  It  would  be  interesting  to  know 
the  source  of  this  supply  of  the  precious  ambergris,  but 
neither  Simmonds  nor  any  other  writers  make  any 
further  mention  of  it. 

57  Simmonds,  p.  390. 
M  Written  in   1877. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
Whale  Products  in  Commerce. 

It  is  much  more  difficult  to  trace  the  development  of 
trade  in  whale  products  than  it  is  to  trace  any  other 
phase  in  the  history  of  whaling  activities.  The  chief 
source  of  difficulty  lies  in  the  absence  of  early  records  of 
trade  movements,  both  domestic  and  foreign.  It  seems 
undoubted  that  whale  products  became  important  articles 
of  commerce  almost  as  soon  as  whaling  began.  The 
amounts  of  oil  taken  by  the  Nantucket,  the  Long  Island 
and  the  Cape  Cod  fishermen  must  very  soon  have  been 
much  larger  than  necessary  to  supply  all  local  demands. 
At  least  as  early  as  the  introduction  of  boat  whaling  there 
must  have  been  permanent  markets  important  enough 
to  make  whaling  profitable  when  pursued  as  a  regular 
business.  And  as  early  as  1668  a  company  was  formed 
at  Easthampton  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  whaling 
from  boats.1 

It  seems  quite  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  trade  in 
whale  oils  was,  almost  from  the  start,  carried  on  with  both 
domestic  and  foreign  markets ;  not  that  the  export  trade 
grew  out  of  a  greater  supply  than  could  be  disposed  of  in 
the  colonies.  Export  trade  to  British  ports  was  favored 
by  various  conditions.  The  New  England  colonists  were 
familiar  with  the  English  demand  for  whale  oils,  through 
the  attempts  at  establishing  the  Spitzbergen  fishery. 
The  colonists  were  in  constant  need  of  British  commodi- 
ties and  the  exchange  for  colonial  products  directly  was  a 
natural  outcome  of  this  demand.  Great  Britain  exerted 
every  influence,  at  times  little  less  than  actual  compulsion, 

1  Starbuck,  p.  i  2. 


Whale  Products  in  Commerce.  99 

in  the  encouragement  of  trade  between  the  American 
colonies  and  the  mother  country.  And  the  colonics 
themselves  in  many  instances  placed  obstacles  in  the  way 
of  inter-colonial  trade,  while  trade  with  England  was 
directly  favored. 

When  the  trade  first  began,  what  were  the  markets  and 
how  important  were  the  movements  of  whale  products 
is  impossible  to  say.  Starbuck  says'  that  the  oil  from 
Long  Island  was  sent  to  Boston  and  to  Connecticut 
ports  at  an  early  date,  and  that  this  trade  was  for  many 
years  an  almost  constant  source  of  trouble  between  the 
settlers  at  the  eastern  end  of  Long  Island  and  the  colonial 
authorities  of  New  York.  Among  the  first  of  the  many 
arbitrary  laws  passed  by  the  New  York  governors  and 
councils  was  an  act  requiring  all  oil  for  export  to  be 
cleared  from  the  port  of  New  York.  And  an  act  dated 
1684  imposed  a  duty  of  ten  per  cent  on  all  whale  products 
exported  from  New  York  ports  to  any  outside  ports, 
except  directly  to  England  or  to  the  West  Indies.3  It  is 
obvious  enough  that  this  act  was  directed  against  the 
trade  with  Boston  and  Connecticut  ports,  but  history 
says  that  it  was  not  successful  in  accomplishing  the 
desired  end.  It  is  valuable,  however,  as  indicating  that 
by  1680  at  least,  both  home  and  foreign  trade  in  whale 
products  had  become  important  enough  to  be  regarded  as 
an  element  of  commerce  and  worthy  of  legislative  control. 

Little  has  been  preserved  in  the  records  to  reveal  the 
conditions  of  the  trade  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
seventeenth  century  and  the  opening  decades  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  But  from  the  meager  references 
available  it  appears  to  have  undergone  hardly  any 
changes,  except  that  of  increasing  importance  and  value. 
Whale  oil  was  the  chief  product  of  the  fishery  in  th 
early  days.     Sperm  whaling  was  not  begun  until  about 

'  Starbuck,  p.  14. 
1  Starbuck,  p.  15. 


ioo        A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

1712,4  and  whalebone  was  not  then  regarded  as  of  much 
value.  Long  Island,  Nantucket  and  Cape  Cod  were  the 
main  whaling  localities,  and  it  seems  probable  that  Boston 
remained  the  chief  port  for  many  years,  with  the  exports 
going  to  British  ports  in  Great  Britain  and  in  the  West 
Indies. 

In  1678  a  Boston  merchant  had  sought  permission  to 
clear  with  a  cargo  of  oil  he  had  purchased  at  South- 
ampton, directly  from  that  port  to  London,  in  order  to 
avoid  the  risk  of  extra  leakage  during  the  voyage  to  New 
York.5  But  it  seems  probable  that  this  practice  was 
not  continued,  for  during  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century  there  was  the  same  old  trouble  because  of  the 
trade  going  to  colonial  ports  outside  of  New  York  rather 
than  to  that  port.  In  1720  the  Nantucket  whalers  made 
a  small  shipment  of  oil  to  London,  but  whether  this  was 
their  first  venture  in  direct  export  trade  is  as  uncertain  as 
is  our  knowledge  concerning  the  success  of  the  enter- 
prise. At  all  events  it  was  not  until  many  years  later 
that  the  practice  was  resumed. 

The  trade  in  whale  products,  especially  the  export 
trade,  apparently  grew  rapidly  after  the  development  of 
deep  sea  whaling,  for  of  the  industry  in  1730  Holmes 
says,8  the  "whale  fishery  of  the  North  American  coasts 
must  at  this  time  have  been  very  considerable,  for  there 
arrived  in  England  .  .  .  about  the  month  of  July, 
154  tons  of  train  and  whale  oil  and  9,200  of  whale- 
bone." These  quantities  must  either  include  the  pro- 
duct imported  into  England  from  the  British  fishery  in 
Davis  Strait,  which  had  begun  some  years  before,  or  else 
the  "9,200  of  bone"  means  pounds  and  not  tons.  For  it 
is  incredible  that  the  limited  colonial  industry  should 
export  an  amount  of  bone  equal  to  the  annual  ex- 
ports during  the  years  when  whaling  was  in  the  full  tide 

•  Macy,  p.  42. 

•  Starbuck,  p.  14. 

•  Holmes:  American  Annals,  I,  126 


Whale  Products  in  Commerce.  101 

of  its  success  and  bone  was  an  increasingly  valuable 
product. 

As  the  whaling  industry,  grew  the  increased  quantities 
of  oil  and  bone  far  exceeded  the  limited  colonial  demand. 
Boston  had  for  many  years  served  as  the  chief  colonial 
market,  especially  for  the  important  Nantucket  interests. 
The  whalers  sold  their  oil  there  and  secured  their  supplies 
from  that  port.  But  the  markets  were  occasionally 
glutted  as  the  business  was  overdone  and  the  prices  were 
too  low  to  make  the  fishery  profitable.7  Export  trade 
in  whale  products  as  in  other  commodities  was  practically 
limited  to  British  and  British  West  Indian  ports. 

"It  was  found,"  says  Macy,8  "that  Nantucket  had  in 
many  places  become  famed  for  whaling,  and  particularly 
so  in  England,  where  partial  supplies  of  the  oil  had  been 
received  through  the  medium  of  the  Boston  trade.  The 
people  finding  that  merchants  in  Boston  were  making  a 
good  profit  by  purchasing  oil  in  Nantucket  ...  or- 
dering it  to  Boston  and  thence  shipping  it  to  London, 
determined  to  secure  the  advantage  of  the  trade  to 
themselves,  by  exporting  their  oil  in  their  own  vessels. 
.  They,  therefore,  loaded  and  sent  out  one  vessel 
about  1745.  The  result  of  this  small  beginning  proved 
profitable  and  encouraged  them  to  increase  their  ship- 
ment by  sending  out  other  vessels.  They  found,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  profits  on  the  sales,  that  the  articles  in  return 
Were  such  as  their  business  required,  viz.,  iron,  hardware, 
hemp,  sailcloth  and  many  other  goods,  and  at  a  much 
cheaper  rate  than  they  had  hitherto  been  subjected  to." 
Nantucket  was  at  that  time  the  chief  center  of  the 
whale  fishery  and  this  new  phase  of  trade  activity  gave 
new  life  to  the  business  and  promoted  new  ventures. 
At  all  times,  in  fact,  the  market  conditions  have  been  of 
vital  importance  to  the  success  and  prosperity  of  whal- 
ing enterpris 

'  Starbuck,  p.  23. 
*  Macy,  p.   51. 


102        A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

The  people  soon  learned  from  experience  how  to  take 
advantage  of  the  different  markets  for  oil.  The  sperm 
oil  was  sent  mainly  to  England  in  the  crude  state,  that  is 
the  "head  matter"  and  the  body  oil  were  generally 
mixed,  for  at  that  time  there  was  not  enough  difference 
in  price  to  pay  for  separating  the  two  grades.  The 
whale  oil,  coming  chiefly  from  right  whales,  was  shipped 
to  Boston,  or  elsewhere  in  the  colonies,  and  from  these 
central  markets  it  was  distributed  throughout  the  colonies 
or  sent  to  the  West  Indies  in  the  trade  for  molasses.' 

In  1 761  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Straits  of 
Belle  Isle  fisheries  were  opened  to  the  colonial  whalemen,10 
and  there  were  immediate  prospects  of  increased  profits. 
But  the  colonists  were  destined  to  be  disappointed.  In 
1755  England  placed  restrictive  measures  on  American 
whaling  operations  in  the  form  of  an  embargo,  pending 
the  expedition  against  the  French  in  Arcadia.  And  the 
same  year  that  the  new  fisheries  were  opened  still  more 
repressive  measures  were  passed.  Apparently  as  a  part 
of  the  plan  to  encourage  and  develop  the  British  whale 
fishery,  still  struggling  in  rivalry  against  the  Dutch, 
Parliament  laid  a  duty  on  all  whale  products  exported  to 
England  from  the  colonies.  The  residents  of  Great 
Britain  on  the  other  hand  were  granted  a  bounty  in  which 
the  colonists  could  not  share.  These  conditions  in 
themselves  were  not  so  hard,  but  by  another  act  of  the 
same  year  the  colonists  were  not  allowed  to  send  their 
exports  to  any  other  markets.  Hence  in  order  to  secure 
any  export  traele  at  all,  the  colonists  were  literally  forced 
into  paying  the  English  duties.  The  New  England 
merchants,  as  well  as  the  London  merchants,  engaged  in 
colonial  trade  protested  against  these  injustices,  sending 
petitions  to  Parliament  asking  for  the  removal  of  the 
duty.  But  it  was  not  until  about  1767  that  the  condi- 
tions were  very  much  improved. 

9  Starbuck,  p.  52—53. 

10  Starbuck,  p.  39. 


Whale  Products  in  Commerce.  103 

During  the  years  immediately  preceding  the  Revolution 
the  whale  fishery  was  prosperous  and  profitable  in  every 
phase  of  its  activity.  The  annual  production  from 
1771-1775  was  probablv  not  lcss  than  45.°°°  barrels  of 
sperm  oil,  8,500  barrels  of  whale  oil  and  75,000  pounds  of 
bone11  The  average  price  in  the  market  during  this 
time  was  about  £40  sterling  per  ton  for  sperm  oil  and 
£50  per  ton  for  head  matter.  Whale  oil  brought  about 
$70  per  ton  and  bone,  exported  chiefly  to  Great  Britain, 
sold  for  about  fifty  cents  per  pound.12  Much  of  the 
exports  went  to  England  to  find  their  way  into  British 
and  other  European  markets  where  the  increasing  con- 
sumption of  oil  in  lamps  as  well  as  in  different  manufac- 
tures created  a  large  demand  for  whale  products.1' 
The  English  demand  especially  was  larger  than  the  supply 
of  the  home  fishery,  and  the  English  government  was 
paying  heavy  bounties  to  build  up  the  business." 

The  outbreak  of  hostilities  in  1775,  however,  put  a  stop 
to  whaling  operations  and  consequently  trade  in  oil  and 
bone  practically  ceased,  except  with  the  West  Indies" 
West  Indian  products  of  all  kinds  commanded  excessively 
high  prices.  The  whaling  vessels  of  that  time,  schooners 
and  small  square  rigged  vessels,  were  well  suited  for  the 
trade,  and  in  addition,  many  of  the  owners  had  stocks  of 
oil  and  candles  which  were  in  demand  in  the  islands. 
The  business,  however,  was  dangerous,  and  to  divide  the 
risk  it  was  usually  carried  on  jointly  by  several  persons. 
But  later  in  the  war  the  presence  of  British  cruisers  and 
privateers  along  the  coast  greatly  restricted  even  this 
small  remnant  of  the  former  prosperous  trade. 

After  the  war  was  over  the  fishery  was  greatly  stimu- 
lated in  its  revival  by  the  excessive  prices  command,  id 

11  Starbuck,  p.  57. 

u  Macy,  p.  81 . 

"  Hutchison,  III,  p.  400. 

14  Scoresby,  p.  75- 

16  Macy,  p.  91. 


104        A  History  of  the  American  IV hale  Fishery. 

by  oil  and  hone.  But  these  prices  soon  fell.16  England 
tried  to  take  over  the  whale  fishery,  paying  heavy  boun- 
ties to  build  up  an  industry  which  could  supply  the  de- 
mands of  the  markets.  At  the  same  time  the  American 
trade  was  practically  excluded  by  an  alien  duty  of  £18 
per  ton.  This  duty  had  a  far-reaching  effect  on  the 
American  industry.  Oil  which  was  worth  £30  per  ton 
before  the  war  now  brought  only  £17,  while  £25  per  ton 
was  the  lowest  price  which  would  leave  the  merchants 
any  margin  of  profit.  The  English  demand  had  been 
practically  the  only  important  foreign  market,  and  with 
the  loss  of  it,  the  situation  was  becoming  desperate.  The 
rise  and  fall  of  prices  may  be  seen  from  the  accompanying 
table  :17 

Sperm  Oil  Sperm  Oil 

Year.  per  ton.  Year.  per  ton. 

173°  £7  IlJ10 £40 

1/48  £14  1772-1775    £45 

1758  £18  1783    £40 

1768  £18  1784    £24 

In  1785  Massachusetts  provided  for  a  bounty  on  whale 
products  to  help  along  the  industry,  but  its  finals  effects 
were  not  wholly  good  The  fishery  was  unnaturally 
stimulated  and  the  imports  of  oil  and  bone  soon  exceeded 
the  demand.  The  long  suspension  in  the  use  of  oil  during 
the  years  of  the  war  had  resulted  in  a  more  general  return 
to  the  use  of  tallow  candles.  Over  production,  there- 
fore, prevented  the  hoped  for  increase  in  prices  and 
profits.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  Nantucket  whalers 
carried  on  negotiations  with  England  and  with  France  in 
regard  to  a  transference  of  their  interests  to  those  coun- 
tries where  more  favorable  conditions  were  presented." 
A  commercial  treaty  with  France  in  1789,19  however, 
gave  promise  of  more  prosperous  conditions,  by  opening 

18  Starbuck,  p.  78. 

17  Macy,  pp.  226-227. 

18  Macy,  pp.  134-135. 
11  Starbuck,  p.  90. 


Whale  Products  in  Commerce.  105 

the  French  markets  to  American  whale  products,  while 
at  the  same  time  European  whale  products  were  ex- 
cluded. The  first  few  shipments  to  France  met  with  a 
profitable  sale  and  the  prospects  seemed  good.  But 
the  troubles  between  France  and  England,  and  the  oat- 
break  of  the  French  Revolution,  soon  annulled  all  the 
expected  advantages  of  the  agreement  of  1 789. 

From  that  time  until  the  close  of  the  war  of  181 2  every 
phase  of  the  whale  fishery  was  marked  by  ups  and  downs, 
such  as  are  found  at  no  other  time.  In  1798  the  pros- 
pects of  hostilities  between  the  United  States  and  France 
were  reflected  in  the  preying  of  French  privateers  on 
American  commerce.  Whaling  interests  suffered  with 
the  rest.  The  price  of  provisions  was  high;  rates  of 
insurance  increased;  at  one  time  rates  as  high  as  twenty 
per  cent  were  charged  for  marine  insurance  when  the 
underwriters  would  assume  risks  at  all;20  and  there  were 
many  times  when  the  ship  owners  must  have  lost  money, 
under  the  current  prices,  even  if  their  ships  had  brought 
in  full  cargoes.21  During  the  early  years  of  the  ne  w 
century  there  was  added  both  the  trouble  with  the 
Spanish  in  South  America,  just  when  the  newly  opened 
Pacific  fishery  was  becoming  important,  and  the  difficul- 
ties with  Breat  Britain  in  harassing  our  eomnit  rce.  The 
embargo  of  1807  kept  down  the  prices  of  oil  and  candles 
by  stopping  their  exportation.  And  finally  the  outbr<  ak 
of  actual  hostilities  in  1812,  with  the  accompanying  re- 
strictions on  trade  in  general,  once  more  put  an  efT<  ctive 
end  to  any  extensive  trade  movements  in  whale  products. 

Yet  during  these  same  years  there  were  othi  r  influences 
which  were  tending  steadily  to  build  up  trade  in  whale 
oils  and  bone.  The  years  of  depression  led  many  owners 
to  sell  their  vessels  or  to  transfer  them  to  other  branches 
of  business.  The  quantities  of  oil  imported  were  th<  reby 
reduced  even  below  the  market  demand  and  the  prices 

10  Macy,  p.  163. 

11  Macy,  p.  150. 


106        A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

again  rose  to  the  point  of  returning  reasonable  profits. 
With  renewed  prosperity  in  the  country  the  home  con- 
sumption of  oil  and  sperm  candles  was  increasing.  During 
the  Revolution  necessity  had  prompted  a  return  to  tallow 
candles,  but  experience  had  shown  clearly  enough  that 
the  whale  and  sperm  oil  were  preferable  as  illuminants, — 
giving  both  a  cheaper  and  a  better  light.  Light -houses 
were  also  increasing  in  number,  creating  a  greater  de- 
mand for  oil  and  tending  to  raise  its  price.  Whale  oil 
was  being  secured  in  greater  quantities  and  the  fact  that 
it  commanded  only  about  one-half  the  price  of  sperm  oil, 
favored  its  more  general  use.  Whale  oil,  it  is  true,  did 
not  give  such  a  brilliant  light  as  sperm  oil,  but  since  it 
was  cheaper  and  would  last  about  twice  as  long,  it  had 
an  increasing  demand  for  common  lights.  Both  sperm 
candles  and  whale  oil  found  growing  markets  in  most  of 
the  important  seaports  on  the  coast,  and  from  them  it 
was  shipped  to  various  parts  of  the  world,  the  West  In- 
dian trade  being  especially  important.22 

While  the  war  lasted  (1812-1815)  the  imports  of  oil 
and  bone  fell  to  the  merest  fraction  of  what  they  had 
been  during  the  years  just  previous  to  the  outbreak  of 
hostilities.  The  decreased  supply  was  far  below  the  de- 
mand of  the  home  markets,  and  this  fact,  coupled  with 
the  prohibitive  embargoes,  resulted  in  the  complete  sus- 
pension of  the  export  trade.  In  the  years  1813  to  1815 
inclusive  there  were  no  shipments  of  sperm  oil  or  bone  to 
foreign  markets,  while  of  whale  oil  the  exports  were 
practically  nil  in  1 8 1 4  and  none  at  all  in  1 8 1 5 .  During 
the  fifteen  years  since  the  opening  of  the  century  the  an- 
nual exports  had  gone  as  high  as  136,000  gallons  of  sperm 
oil,  932,000  gallons  of  whale  oil,  and  134,000  pounds  of 
bone.  The  current  prices  were  ranging  near  one  dollar 
a  gallon  for  sperm  and  fifty  cents  per  gallon  for  whale 
oil,  while  bone  was  not  worth  over  ten  cents  per  pound. 
But  at  a  time  when  the  total  export  trade  of  the  United 

11  Macy,  p.  139. 


Whale  Products  in  Commerce.  107 

States  was  relatively  small,  the  trade  in  whale  products 
was  proportionately  more  important  than  during  the 
later  days  of  greater  whaling  prosperity. 

Whaling  was  resumed  after  the  war  with  marked 
activity  especially  at  Nantucket.  After  the  Revolution 
oil  and  bone  had  commanded  excessive  prices  for  a  brief 
time,  and  now  the  belief  that  the  first  cargoes  would 
bring  similarly  high  prices  acted  as  a  great  stimulus  to 
renew  the  fishery.  But  the  prices  fell  as  low  or  even 
lower  than  for  several  years  previous  and  many  of  the 
owners  found  themselves  in  financial  difficulties  as  a 
result  of  doing  business  on  credit  and  meeting  with 
unsuccessful  voyages.  For  two  or  three  years  the  depres- 
sion in  whaling  interests  was  a  rather  serious  question  to 
those  whose  capital  was  invested.  The  unsettled  period 
lasted  until  about  181 8  or  1820  when  the  fishery  was  once 
more  on  a  profitable  basis  as  the  result  of  successful  voy- 
ages. The  steadily  increasing  quantities  of  imports  from 
18 1 8  onward  are  the  best  indications  of  this  growing 
prosperity.  At  the  same  time  the  export  trade  to  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  world  began  to  assume  its  former  pro- 
portions. 

The  exports  of  whale  oil  had  surpassed  any  former 
record  by  the  end  of  the  year  1820,  over  one  and  a 
quarter  million  gallons  being  shipped  that  year.  The 
sperm  oil  shipments  were  fluctuating  up  to  about  1825, 
but  after  that  year  annual  exports  began  to  attain 
greater  prominence.  The  foreign  trade  in  whalebone 
was  also  relatively  small  during  the  years  just  after  the 
close  of  the  war  but  this  fact  is  partially  explained  by 
the  small  total  imports  during  that  time. 

From  1825  until  the  decline  of  whaling  int.  rests  began, 
about  i860,  the  trade  in  whale  products  grew  with  the 
growing  industry.  But  the  increase  in  the  importance 
of  the  export  trade  was  not  keeping  pace  with  the  growth 
of  the  industry  as  a  whole.  In  other  words  the  fishery 
was  finding  the  basis  for  its  greater  prosperity  not  so  much 


108        A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

in  a  rapidly-growing  foreign  market  as  in  the  increased 
consumption  at  home.  In  a  way  this  circumstance  was 
a  direct  reversal  of  the  conditions  at  the  close  of  the 
Revolution.  At  that  time  loss  of  the  foreign,  especially 
the  important  British,  markets  was  the  prime  cause  of 
the  fluctuations  in  whaling  prosperity.  The  home 
demands  at  that  time  were  not  great  enough  to  support  a 
flourishing  industry  and  the  merchants  had  been  com- 
pelled to  look  to  foreign  markets  for  a  good  share  of  their 
profits.  But  after  1 820  by  far  the  larger  part  of  the  whale 
oils  went  into  the  markets  of  this  country.  Whalebone, 
on  the  contrary,  has  almost  always  seemed  to  find  its 
greatest  demands  in  European  markets. 

The  growth  of  imports  from  year  to  year  may  be  seen 
from  a  study  of  Table  III  in  Appendix  I.  From  1825  to 
1835  the  imports  of  sperm  oil  had  risen  from  about 
2,000,000  gallons  to  over  5,000,000  gallons.  The  quantity 
of  whale  oil  had  increased,  by  1837,  from  a  little  over 
1,600,000  to  over  6,300,000  gallons  in  a  single  year. 
And  the  yield  of  whalebone  had  risen  from  less  than 
200,000  pounds,  previous  to  1829,  to  over  2,000,000 
pounds  by  1840. 

During  the  same  years  the  exports  of  sperm  oil  had  not 
risen  above  300,000  gallons  and  except  in  two  years  they 
had  not  exceeded  100,000  gallons  annually.  Of  the 
whale  oil  and  whale  bone,  however,  between  a  third  and 
a  half  of  the  total  imports  were  finding  their  way  into  the 
foreign  trade  of  the  country.  In  another  connection 
attention  has  been  called  to  the  fluctuations  from  year 
to  year  characteristic  of  the  whale  fishery.  The  same 
feature  is  found  in  a  study  of  the  annual  exports.  A 
comparison  of  the  number  of  vessels  and  tonnage  of 
the  fleet  with  the  amount  of  annual  imports  shows  no 
definite  inter-relationship.  Nor  is  there  any  apparent 
connection  between  the  quantities  of  oil  and  bone  im- 
ported and  the  amounts  sent  to  foreign  markets. 
For    example  to  look  at  the  years  when  imports  and 


Whale  Products  in  Commerce.  109 

exports  have  reached  their  maximum  amounts  brings 
out  this  point: 

Maximum  Annual  Imports  and   Exports  of  Whale   Products. 

Imports.  Exports. 

Sperm  oil 1837,        5,329, 138  gals.  1860-61,  1,518,457  gals. 

Whale  oil 1851,     10,182,000  gals.  1837-38,  4,824,376  gals. 

Bone 1853,        5,652,300  lbs.  1852-53,  2,852,069  lbs. 

In  short  the  foreign  demand  for  American  whale  products 
seems  to  have  been  influenced  more  by  the  failure  of  the 
European  fisheries  than  by  the  success  of  the  American 
industry. 

During  the  days  of  whaling  prosperity  both  oil  and 
bone  were  important  articles  of  foreign  trade.  Whale 
oil  was  shipped  abroad  in  somewhat  larger  quantities 
than  was  sperm  oil  but  the  usual  higher  prices  of  the  latter 
made  it  of  equal  or  even  greater  value.  When  the  decline 
of  whaling  interests  began  about  i860,  the  commercial 
importance  of  whale  products  also  began  to  fall,  for  it 
was  almost  entirely  a  lessened  demand  and  decreasing 
consumption  which  induced  the  decline.  Whale  oil  was 
the  first  product  to  be  seriously  affected  because  its  uses 
as  a  cheap  illuminant  were  most  largely  supplanted  by 
the  new  petroleum  products. 

Since  1864  the  exports  of  whale  oil  have  steadily 
declined,  in  only  five  years  exceeding  10,000  barrels. 
And  since  1899  the  total  exports  have  been  only  900 
barrels— 500  barrels  in  1900  and  400  barrels  in  1902.  At 
the  same  time  the  imports  have  declined  steadily  from 
76,000  barrels  in  1865  to  1,755  barrels  in  1905.  Thus 
both  the  home  and  the  foreign  markets  have  practically 
ceased  to  be  important.  With  sperm  oil  the  condition  is 
slightly  different.  Its  use  in  fine  lubricants  has  pre- 
served a  part  of  the  former  demand,  along  with  the 
minor  consumption  in  certain  industrial  arts.  But  the 
consumption  is  largely  in  the  American  markets.  Since 
1865  the  imports  of  sperm  oil  have  d<  clined  on  the  whole, 


no        A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

though  with  many  fluctuations,  from  about  65,000 
barrels  to  12,985  barrels  in  1905.  The  exports  which  in 
1865  amounted  to  20,000  barrels,  have  not  exceeded 
2,000  barrels  in  any  year  since  1892,  and  since  1900  only 
one  year,  1902  with  470  barrels,  has  been  marked  by  any 
foreign  shipment  of  sperm  oil.  Whale  oil  therefore  has 
largely  lost  both  home  and  foreign  markets,  while  sperm 
oil  has  ceased  to  rank  as  an  article  of  export.  The  small 
annual  yield  of  the  latter  is  almost  entirely  consumed  in 
the  United  States. 

Whalebone  presents  a  marked  contrast  to  the  declin- 
ing trade  in  oils.  True  it  is  that  the  annual  yield  of 
bone  at  present  is  far  below  the  figures  for  the  years 
during  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  But  with  the 
failing  of  the  whale  fishery,  bone  has  become  the  chief 
product.  Year  by  year  its  price  has  risen  as  the  supply 
has  fallen  off,  and  the  demand  has  continued.  The 
foreign  market  still  continues  to  be  the  most  important, 
rather  more  than  half  the  bone  being  sent  to  European 
ports,  chiefly  France,  Germany  and  Great  Britain. 
Whalebone  alone  remains  as  an  important  article  of 
commerce — on  the  demand  for  bone  depends  almost 
entirely  the  future  of  trade  in  whale  products.  A  recent 
report  from  the  London  "Times"  (Nov.  1,  1906)  states 
that  the  price  of  whalebone  in  the  London  market  has 
gone  up  to  seven  dollars  per  pound  as  the  result  of  the 
failure  of  the  British  fishery.  The  Dundee  whalers  could 
not  reach  the  whaling  grounds,  in  the  Davis  Strait  and 
Greenland  regions,  because  of  the  presence  of  pack  ice. 
This  high  price  will  undoubtedly  stimulate  the  foreign 
shipments  of  bone  from  this  country. 

Whaling  was  beneficial  in  its  prosperity  not  alone  to  the 
people  who  invested  directly  in  the  fishing  enterprises. 
The  refining  and  manufacturing  of  oils  offered  profitable 
employment  for  capital  and  gave  work  to  many  hundreds 
of  workmen  during  the  days  of  its  greatest  development. 

The   manufacture  of  sperm  candles  was   one   of  the 


JVhale  Products  in  Commerce.  in 

most  important  industries  growing  out  of  the  whale 
fishery.  And  as  early  as  1760  there  were  eight  factories 
in  New  England  and  one  in  Philadelphia.23  Other 
allied  industries  were  greatly  promoted,  as  cooperage, 
machine-shop  products,  cordage,  and  more  especially 
boat  and  ship  building.  Thus  in  1851  the  N<  w  Bedford 
fleet  alone  added  forty-eight  ships,  and  in  1852  six  n 
ships  were  being  built  in  the  New  Bedford  yards." 
The  development  of  such  interests  gave  rise  to  new  trade 
relations  and  movements.  The  growth  of  these  allied 
industries  reflected  the  growing  importance  of  trade  in 
whale  products,  and  their  success  depended  on  the 
commercial  prosperity  of  the  fishery.  The  changing 
economic  conditions,  by  which  this  commerce  was  largely 
destroyed,  might  have  effected  these  industries  adversely 
in  the  important  whaling  centers,  and  have  brought  a 
general  economic  crisis  in  such  a  place  as  New  Bedford, — 
but  the  change  was  gradual ;  the  markets  declined  slowly  ; 
and  most  of  the  industries  were  able  to  transfc  r  th(  ir 
interests  to  other  growing  lines  of  activity.  Ship  and 
boat  building  alone  suffered  heavily  but  perhaps  not  so 
much  from  the  failure  of  whaling  commerce  as  from  the 
general  decline  of  the  American  merchant  marine  and 
American  supremacy  in  ship  building. 

"  Weeden,  I,  655. 
M  Ellis,  p.  419. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
Present  Status  and  Future  Prospects. 

On  January  i,  1906,  the  whaling  fleet  of  the  United 
States  numbered  forty-two  vessels,  with  an  aggregate 
tonnage  of  9,878  tons.  By  way  of  comparison,  the 
Nantucket  fleet  from  1 771-1775  numbered  150  vessels, 
having  a  tonnage  of  15,075  tons.  The  number  of  vessels 
at  the  beginning  of  the  year  was  the  same  for  the  two 
years  previous,  but  the  tonnage  figures  represent  the 
highest  mark  reached  since  January  1,  1900,  when  the 
figures  for  the  fleet  were  forty-eight  vessels,  and  aggregate 
tonnage  10,478.  The  increase  in  tonnage  from  1905  to 
1906  was  owing  to  the  addition  of  new  vessels,  a  294- 
ton  bark  from  Norwich,  a  390-ton  brig  from  New  Bedford 
and  a  180-ton  schooner  from  San  Francisco.  While  the 
three  vessels  lost  or  withdrawn  aggregated  only  270  tons. 

The  most  notable  feature  of  the  year  was  the  reappear- 
ance of  Norwich,  Conn.,  as  a  whaling  port  after  a  lapse 
of  seventy  years.  Since  Boston  dropped  from  the  list 
in  1903  vessels  had  been  registered  only  from  the  three 
ports,  New  Bedford,  San  Francisco  and  Provincetown. 
During  the  last  thirty -five  years  the  only  other  instances 
of  a  new  port  being  added  to  the  list  were  Stonington, 
Conn.,  which  sent  one  or  two  vessels  yearly  from  1878 
to  1893,  and  Hartford,  Conn.,  which  sent  one  vessel  in 
1887.  The  Stonington  case  represented  a  lapse  of 
seventeen  years,  while  Hartford  had  never  before  been 
a  whaling  port.  The  Norwich  instance  is,  therefore, 
noteworthy,  but  it  means  practically  nothing  as  to  the 
status  of  the  whole  industry. 

The  main  fleet,  as  in  previous  years,  was  divided  among 
New  Bedford  with  twenty -four  vessels ;  San  Francisco, 


Present  Status  and  Future  Prospects.  113 

fourteen  vessels,  and  Provincetown,  three  vessels.  Of 
the  whole  fleet,  there  were  twenty-five  steamers  and 
barks,  three  brigs  and  fourteen  schooners.  With  the 
exception  of  five  schooners  hailing  from  San  Francisco, 
practically  all  the  brigs  and  schooners,  that  is  the  smaller 
vessels,  are  employed  in  the  sperm  whale  fishery  of  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.  The  steamers  and  barks,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  engaged  chiefly  in  the  North  Pacific  and  the 
Arctic  fishery. 

The  imports  of  whale  products  in  1905  show  a  falling  off 
from  previous  years.  The  imports  of  sperm  oil,  12,985 
barrels,  reached  the  lowest  figure  since  1899;  whale  oil, 
1,755  barrels,  touched  the  lowest  figure  since  181 5,  with 
the  single  exception  of  1903,  and  whalebone,  79,900 
pounds,  again  excepting  1903,  went  lower  than  in  any 
other  year  since  1827.  In  other  words,  the  vessel  and 
tonnage  figures  would  suggest  a  slight  revival  of  whaling 
during  the  last  few  years,  the  figures  of  imports  last  year 
indicate  about  the  lowest  condition  of  the  fishery  for 
nearly  a  century. 

The  prices  on  whale  products  also  fell,  six  cents  per 
gallon  on  sp;rm  oil,  five  e-'nts  on  whale  oil,  and  nin 
cents  a  pound  on  whalebone.  Hence  the  smaller  imports 
had  a  still  smaller  relative  value  as  compared  with  the 
two  or  three  years  immediately  previous.  It  seems, 
therefore,  that  in  spite  of  a  slight  increase  in  the  fleet 
tonnage,  the  whaling  industry  has  not  yet  reached  its 
lowest  ebb,  at  least  as  far  as  oils  are  concerned.  The 
merchants,  however,  apparently  have  faith  in  an  advance 
of  price,  for  many  of  them  are  holding  much  of  their 
stocks  rather  than  sell  at  the  prevailing  low  prices. 

The  imports  of  oil  and  bone  are  made  chiefly  at  New 
Bedford  and  at  San  Francisco.  The  Atlantic  fleet  of 
sperm  whalers  makes  New  Bedford  its  port,  though  small 
amounts  of  both  sperm  and  whale  oil  are  occasionally 
entered  at  New  York  and  Boston.  The  San  Francisco 
imports  are  chiefly  of  whalebone  from  the  right  whale 


ii4        A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

fishery  of  the  North  Pacific  and  Arctic  fleets.  Some  bone 
is  also  usually  entered  at  Seattle,  whence  it  is  shipped 
east  by  rail.  There  were  no  exports  of  either  sperm  oil 
or  whale  oil  in  1905 — making  the  third  year  of  no  foreign 
movement  of  these  products.  It  seems  safe  to  conclude 
that  the  formerly  important  European  market  no  longer 
exists,  and  the  consumption  of  whale  oils  is  by  home 
demands — their  uses  being  mainly  as  lubricating  oils. 
Whalebone,  on  the  contrary,  still  continues  to  have  a 
good  foreign  demand  as  in  previous  years,  the  exports  in 
1905  exceeding  80,000  pounds. 

Such,  in  brief,  was  the  condition  of  the  whale  fishery  at 
the  end  of  the  year  1905.  During  the  past  summer 
(1906)  no  less  than  eight  whaling  vessels,  schooners  and 
brigs,  were  in  the  harbor  at  New  Bedford  at  one  time. 
Such  a  thing  had  not  happened  before  for  years — the 
daily  papers  noted  it  at  length  and  people  began  to  talk 
about  a  "revival  of  whaling. "  But  a  careful  analysis  of 
present  conditions  shows  no  ground  for  such  a  belief. 

What  the  future  of  whaling  is  to  be,  is,  of  course,  much 
in  the  nature  of  mere  prophecy — yet  the  signs  seem  easy 
to  interpret.  It  appears  reasonable  enough  to  say  that 
the  fishery  for  right  whales  will  be  carried  on  in  the 
northern  seas  as  long  as  the  demand  for  whalebone  con- 
tinues and  as  long  as  the  price  remains  at  its  present 
high  figure.  That  is,  the  most  important  phase  of  the 
industry  will  be  carried  on  from  the  Pacific  coast,  and  San 
Francisco  will  doubtless  continue  to  be  the  headquarters 
of  the  fleet. 

The  prospect  for  the  Atlantic  sperm  whale  fishery  is  not 
so  promising.  The  low  price  of  oil  is  rather  discouraging 
to  the  merchants,  and  only  the  good  luck  of  the  vessels  in 
securing  large  catches  in  a  short  time  has  made  it  possible 
to  continue  the  business  with  any  profit.  The  modest 
manner  in  which  this  fishery  is  carried  on  by  the  New 
Bedford  and  Provincetown  merchants,  with  small  vessels 
making  relatively  short  voyages,   will  probably  enable 


Present  Status  and  future  Prospects.  115 

them  to  continue  the  business  to  a  limited  extent  as  long 
as  the  fondness  for  sperm  lubricating  oils  continues  to  be  a 
Yankee  trait. 

Beyond  these  possibilities  the  future  seems  to  hold 
nothing.  Whaling  no  longer  ranks  as  an  important 
commercial  interest  even  in  the  localities  from  which  it  is 
carried  on.  The  most  optimistic  view  of  the  future 
reveals  no  prospect  of  any  chance  for  permanent  growth 
or  development.  The  economic  conditions  under  which 
whaling  prospered  have  ceased  to  exist,  never  to  be 
revived.  The  chief  influences  which  induced  the  decline 
of  whaling  have  not  been  abated  in  the  slightest  degree. 
The  death  knell  of  whaling  was  sounded  fifty  years  ago. 
It  may  almost  be  said  that  whaling  is  already  dead. 


APPENDIX  I. 


Statistics  of  Whaling. 

Table  I,  compiled  from  Goode's  work  and  from  the 
"Whalemen's  Shipping  List,"  shows  the  tonnage  of  vessels 
employed  in  the  whale  fishery  from  1794  to  1842,  and 
both  the  number  of  the  vessels  and  their  tonnage  from 
1843  to  date.  These  figures  are  interesting  in  a  number 
of  ways.  First  of  all  they  show  the  limited  extent  and 
unsettled  conditions  of  the  fishery  until  after  the  close 
of  the  war  of  181 2.  Second,  they  give  a  good  idea  of  the 
rapid  growth  up  to  1847,  and  finally  they  serve  well  to 
illustrate  the  less  rapid,  yet  steady,  decline  from  about 
1850   onward. 

Studied  in  connection  with  Table  I,  Tabic  II  gives  a 
still  more  detailed  conception  of  the  various  phases  of 
the  history  of  whaling.  Table  II  gives  the  records  of 
clearance  of  whaling  vessels  from  the  different  ports  from 
1784  to  1840,  compiled  from  Starbuck's  tables;  and  the 
vessels  owned  at  the  different  ports  from  1840  to  1905, 
compiled  from  the  "Shipping  List."  The  different  points 
worthy  of  attention  are  (1)  The  relatively  large  number 
of  ports  from  which  whaling  vessels  were  sent  immedi- 
ately after  the  Revolution,  but  from  most  of  which 
whaling  was  carried  on  only  intermittently  or  was  sus- 
pended entirely  until  after  the  War  of  181 2.  (2)  The 
uninterrupted  prosecution  of  the  fishery  year  after  year 
from  New  Bedford  and  Nantucket,  except  during  the 
second  war  with  England,  and  (3)  The  increasing  rivalry 
for  supremacy  between  these  two  ports,  soon  decided  in 
favor  of  New  Bedford.  (4)  The  reawakening  of  the  busi- 
ness at  many  ports  from  181 8  to  1820  and  the  years 
following.     (5)  The  increasing  size  of  the  individual  fleets 


n8        A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

and  the  regularity  with  which  the  business  was  carried 
on  from  a  large  number  of  ports  during  the  later  years  of 
the  Golden  Era.  (6)  The  abandonment  of  the  fishery  at 
port  after  port  in  the  period  from  1857  to  1870.  (7)  And 
finally  the  gradually  increasing  size  of  the  San  Francisco 
fleet  while  all  the  other  fleets  were  still  declining,  until 
only  the  three  ports,  New  Bedford,  San  Francisco  and 
Provincetown  remain. 

The  table  of  imports,  Table  III,  is  chiefly  valuable  as 
indicative  of  the  commercial  importance  of  the  fishery. 
In  a  way,  also,  the  increasing  quantities  brought  in  from 
year  to  year  are  illustrative  of  the  growth  of  the  fishery 
up  to  about  1850  to  i860,  when  the  decline  began,  After 
that  date  the  decreasing  imports  speak  eloquently  of  the 
lessened  consumption  and  demand,  and  the  forces  work- 
ing against  whaling  prosperity.  A  comparison  of  imports 
and  the  size  of  the  fleet,  as  given  in  Table  I,  in  a  number 
of  different  years,  will  bring  out  vividly  the  uncertainty 
that  always  attended  whaling  operations.  In  a  year 
when  the  fleet  was  large  the  imports  might  be  small, 
while  perhaps  the  very  next  year  a  distinctly  smaller 
fleet  would  bring  in  cargoes  making  up  a  far  greater  total 
for  the  year. 

A  comparison  of  the  figures  for  one  or  two  instances 
will  illustrate  the  point: 

Size  of  Whaling   Fleet  and  Quantities  of  Imports. 


Year. 

Number  of 
Vessels. 

Gallons  of 
Sperm  Oil. 

Gallons  of 
Whale  Oil. 

Pounds  of 
Bone. 

1851    , 

•  •  -553 

99-591 

328,483 

3,906,500 

1852    . 

. . .620 

78,872 

84,21  1 

1,259,900 

1853 

661 

103.°77 

260,1  14 

5,652,300 

1854    • 

. . .668 

76,696 

319.837 

3,445,200 

The  contrast  between  1851  and  1854  is  most  marked. 
In  the  three  years  the  number  of  vessels  increased  by 
115 — principally  from  NewT  Bedford — but  in  the  latter 
year  the  imports  were  distinctly  smaller.     One  hundred 


Appendix.  119 

of  the  115  vessels  added  were  ships  and  brigs,  representing 
an  increase  of  at  least  $2,000,000  in  the  invested  capital. 
The  lapse  of  four  years  precludes  the  argument  that  the 
new  vessels  had  not  had  time  to  secure  a  cargo  and 
return  home — a  point  that  becomes  still  more  manifest 
if  the  imports  for  1855  and  1856  are  considered. 

The  table  of  imports  and  the  table  of  exports — Table 
IV — are  properly  studied  together,  since  from  the  two 
can  be  had  the  best  idea  of  the  commercial  importance 
of  whale  products.  The  table  of  exports  also  shows  the 
close  dependence  of  foreign  trade  on  general  economic 
conditions — nowhere  more  marked  than  in  the  falling  off 
in  the  foreign  trade  as  soon  as  the  decline  of  whaling 
began.  The  decline  of  the  export  trade,  especially  in 
whale  oil,  seems  to  have  been  more  rapid  than  the  decline 
of  the  general  industry.  This  table,  taken  with  the 
table  of  prices,  Table  V,  shows  a  remarkable  example 
of  increasing  commercial  importance  of  a  single  commod- 
ity with  an  almost  steadily  rising  price.  Whalebone  is 
the  product  referred  to — having  continued  its  upward 
tendency  in  spite  of  all  the  adverse  conditions  so  disastrous 
to  the  other  products  of  the  fishery. 

The  annual  prices  again  serve  as  good  illustrations  of 
the  fluctuations  in  the  whaling  business — ups  and  downs 
being  the  rule,  and  stable  conditions  for  more  than  a  year 
or  two  being  the  exception. 

Tables  VI  and  VII,  figures  of  the  North  Pacific  and 
San  Francisco  fleets,  and  the  comparative  imports  at 
New  Bedford  and  San  Francisco  are  illustrative  of  the  rise 
of  the  Pacific  industry  with  the  transference  of  a  large 
part  of  the  whaling  interests  to  the  port  of  San  Francisco. 
This  point  is  perhaps  brought  out  best  by  the  figurt  s  of 
the  annual  imports,  at  the  two  places.  Two  facts  are 
noticeable:  (1)  The  sperm  oil  is  imported  largely 
through  New  Bedford  being  the  product  of  the  Atlantic 
fishery  schooners  from  Provincctown  and  New  Bedford 
and  (2)   the  bone,  at  present  the  really  valuable  product 


120        A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

of  the  fishery,  is  almost  wholly  imported  through  San 
Francisco,  being  the  product  of  the  Arctic  fishery.  In 
other  words  it  is  plain  from  this  comparative  study  that 
San  Francisco  now  has  the  most  valuable  interests,  while 
New  Bedford  retains  but  an  unimportant  remnant  of  her 
once  greatest  industry. 


Appendix. 


121 


Table   I. 

NUMBER  AND  TONNAGE  OF  VESSELS  IN  WHALING 
FLEET,  1794-1906.* 


Number  of  Vessels. 

a 

60 

C 

c 
0 

V 

Number  of  Vessels. 

rt 

V 

** 

•0    . 

C  w 

<2  rt 

.§« 

X 
CO 

g 

M 

•c 
n 

i/i 
C 

V 

c 
0 

0 
X 
0 

to 

"0     . 

x 

60 

•c 

03 

i 

V 

c 
0 
0 

X 

& 

* 
c 
c 
0 
H 

1794 

4,129 

3,103 

2,364 

1,104 

763 

5,647 

3,466 

3,085 

3,201 

12,390 

12,339 

6,015 

10,507 

9,051 

4,526 

3,777 

3,589 

5,299 

2,930 

2,942 

562 

1,230 

1,168 

5,224 

16,750 

32,386 

36,445 

27,995 

48,583 

40,503 

33.346 

35,379 

41,984 

45,992 

54,801 

57.284 

39,705 

82.797 

73.246 

101,636 

108,424 

97,649 

146,254 

129,157 

124,860 

132,285 

136,927 

157,405 

152,990 

199,192 

200.147 

218,066 

233.262 

230.218 

210,668 

196,110 

171. 4S4 

1851 

1852 
1853 
1854 
1855 
1856 
1857 
1858 
1859 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 
1877 
1878 
1879 
1880 
1881 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1905 
1906 

502 

558 

599 

602 

584 

585 

593 

587 

561 

508 

459 

372 

301 

258 

226 

199 

222 

223 

223 

218 

216 

172 

153 

130 

119 

123 

121 

129 

124 

119 

116 

105 

101 

98 

93 

87 

84 

83 

74 

65 

64 

59 

59 

56 

51 

47 

42 

38 

34 

30 

27 

24 

24 

26 

25 

25 

24 

27 

30 

28 

20 

21 

22 

18 

19 

19 

14 

10 

10 

5 

7 

8 

10 

17 

25 

22 

18 

12 

12 

7 

8 

7 

8 

11 

12 

11 

11 

10 

8 

7 

6 

5 

6 

6 

6 

6 

7 

7 

7 

7 

7 

5 

3 

3 

3 

2 

1 

1 

1 
1 
3 

27 

35 
32 
38 
34 
29 
40 
49 
45 
42 
41 
41 
42 
41 
43 
56 
80 
89 
88 
81 
54 
34 
38 
34 
36 
39 
43 
47 
50 
48 
50 
46 
38 
39 
34 
32 
31 
27 
26 
26 
26 
26 
29 
27 
27 
25 
22 
22 
19 
16 
13 
14 
14 
15 
16 
14 

171.071 

1795 

193,190 

1796 

206,286 

1797 

208,399 

1798 

199,842 

1799 

199,141 

1800 

204.209 

1801 

203,148 

1802 

195.115 

1803 

176,848 

1804 

158,745 

1805 



125,462 

1806 

103.146 

1807 

88.785 

1808 

79.696 

1809 

68.535 

1810 

75.340 

1811 

74.596 

1812 

74.512 

1813 

73.137 

1814 

69,372 

1815 

52.701 

1816 

47,996 

1817 

41,191 

1818 

37.733 

1819 

38,883 

1820 

37.828 

1821 

41.197 

1822 

40.602 

1823 

39.433 

1824 

39.426 

1825 

35,892 

1826 

34,137 

1827 

33.119 

1828 

31.207 

1829 

29,118 

1830 

88,291 

1831 

27,851 

1832 

25.488 

1833 

83  718 

1834 

22.464 

1835 

20,845 

1836 

21.165 

1837 

20,107 

1838 

18.152 

1839 

16.358 

1840 

14.684 

1841 

13,373 

1842 

11,436 

1843 
1844 
1845 
1846 
1847 
1848 
1849 
1850 

594 
595 
643 
680 
670 
621 
581 
Sin 

75 

41 

35 
34 
37 
22 
21 
'jo 

6 
9 
17 
22 
20 
16 
12 
13 

10,478 

8.746 
8.366 
8,470 
9,561 
0.378 
8  878 

•Compiled  from  the  following  sources: 
Industries  of  the  United  States,  Sec.  5, 
Shipping  List." 


1 704-1843.  Goode:    Fisheries  and  Fishing 
Vol.  2.   p.    173.      1843-1906.    " Whalemen*  1 


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[26        ./  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 


Table   III. 

IMPORTS  OF    WHALE   PRODUCTS.    .805-1905. 


Pounds 

Pounds 

Year. 

Gallons 

Gallons 

Whale 

Year 

Gall 

Gallons 

Whale 

Sperm  Oil. 

Whale  Oil. 

Bone. 

Sperm  (  41, 

Whale  '  lil 
197,890 

Bone. 

1S05 

412,492 

612,895 

13,131 

1856 

80,941 

2,592,700 

1806 

378,788 

741,951 

86,544     1 

1857 

78,440 

230,941 

2,058,900 

1807 

356,548 

934,259 

72,784     | 

1858 

81,941 

182,223 

1,540,600 

1808 

362,471 

567,095 

49,970     | 

1859 

91,408 

190,411 

1,923,850 

1809 

443,709 

587,664 

17,092     1 

1860 

73,708 

140,005 

1,337,650 

1810 

572,271 

585,869 

41,437 

1861 

68,932 

133,717 

1,038,450 

1811 

844,200 

304,825 

43,200 

1862 

55,641 

100,487 

763,500 

1812 

429,692 

191,079 

ti.'.'t'ti 

1863 

65,055 

62,974 

488,750 

is  13 

111,289 

80,860 

9,901 

1864 

64,372 

71,863 

760,450 

1814 

108,486 

2,573 

1865 

32.242 

76,238 

619,350 

1815 

48,510 

4,347 

,      1866 

36.663 

74,302 

920,375 

1810 

237,479 

294,525 

796 

1867 

43,433 

89,289 

1,001,397 

1S17 

1,028,475 

581,836 

19,440 

!      1868 

47,174 

65,575 

900,850 

ISIS 

586,688 

608,031 

65,446 

'     1869 

47,936 

85,011 

603,606 

1819 

671,674 

1,204,308 

83,843 

!     1870 

55.183 

72,691 

708,365 

1820 

1,093,302 

1,409,846 

78,879 

1     1871 

41,534 

75,152 

600,655 

1821 

1,357,618 

1,213,506 

62,893 

!     1872 

45.201 

31,075 

193,793 

1822 

1,351,350 

1,619,951 

50,799 

t     1873 

42,053 

40,014 

,    206,396 

1823 

2,938,351 

1,697,440 

103,404 

!     1874 

32,203 

37,782 

345,560 

1824 

3,091,064 

1,833,237 

133,427 

1875 

42,617 

34,594 

372,303 

1825 

1,924,303 

1,666,413 

152,534 

1876 

39,811 

33,010 

150,628 

1826 

919,800 

1,108,233 

79,368 

1877 

41,119 

27,191 

160,220 

1827 

2,958,480 

1,119,037 

106,225 

!     1878 

43.50S 

33,778 

207,259 

1828 

2,475,176 

1,591.790 

137,323 

1879 

41,308 

23,334 

286,280 

1829 

2,350,152 

2,256,502 

563,654 

1880 

37.614 

34.776 

464,028 

1830 

3,482,042 

2,831,315 

514,991 

1S81 

30,598 

31,677 

368,322 

1831 

3,636,738 

3,609,774 

279,279 

|      1S82 

29,884 

23,371 

271,999 

1832 

2,299,563 

5,703,894 

442,881 

1883 

24,595 

24,170 

254,037 

1833 

3,289,765 

5,153,148 

266,432 

1884 

22,099 

24,670 

426,968 

1834 

3,891,573 

4,144,833 

343,324 

1885 

24,203 

41,586 

463,990 

1835 

5,181,529 

3,950, 2S9 

965,192 

1886 

23,312 

27,249 

352,490 

1836 

4,200,021 

4,301,892 

1,028,773 

1887 

18,873 

34,171 

585,011 

1837 

5,329,138 

6,389,995 

1,753,104 

1888 

16,265 

17,185 

334,572 

1838' 

132,356 

226,552 

2,200,000 

1889 

18,727 

14,247 

253,113 

1839 

142,336 

229,783 

2,000,000 

1890 

14,480 

17,565 

309,700 

1840 

157,791 

207,908 

2,000,000 

1891 

13,015 

14,837 

2*17.768 

1841 

159,304 

207,348 

2,000,000 

1892 

12,944 

13,382 

369, 8S5 

1842 

165,637 

161,041 

1,600,000 

1893 

15,253 

8,110 

411,315 

1843 

166,985 

206,727 

2,000,000 

1894 

16,333 

8,720 

278,800 

1844 

139,594 

262,047 

2,532,445 

1895 

16,585 

4,009 

114,960 

1845 

157,917 

272,730 

3,167,142 

1896 

15,124 

4,800 

207, S50 

1846 

95,217 

207,493 

2,276,939 

1897 

10,050 

3,600 

178,010 

1847 

120,753 

313,150 

3,341,680 

1898 

12,520 

5,295 

246,120 

1848 

107,976 

280,656 

2,003,000 

1899 

11,903 

3.S27 

320,100 

1849 

100,944 

248,492 

2,281,100 

190Q 

18,525 

5,510 

207.650 

1850 

92,892 

200,608 

2,869,200 

1901 

14,910 

2,930 

99,050 

1S51 

99,591 

328,483 

3,906,500 

;     1902 

21,970 

4,725 

109,980 

1852 

78,872 

84,211 

1,259,900 

!     1803 

18,109 

1,260 

74,850 

1853 

103,077 

260,114 

5,652,300 

1904 

17.050 

3.750 

123,300 

1854 

76,696 

319,837 

3,445,200 

1     1905 

12,985 

1 .  755 

79,900 

1855 

72,649 

184,015 

:     2,707,500 

i 

"Barrels,  1838-1005. 

1805—1837,  Starbuck,  p.  660;  amounts  of  oil  given  in  gallons.      1S38-1905,  "Whale- 
men's Shipping   List;"   amounts  of  oil  given  in  barrels  of   3 ij  gallons  each. 


.  Ippendix. 

Table   IV. 
EXPORTS  OF   WHALE  PRODUCTS,   1795-1005' 


IJ7 


Year. 

Gallons 
Sperm  Oil. 

Gallons2 
Whale  Oil. 

1 '(  unds 
Whale 
Bone. 

Year. 

Cull,  in , 
Sperm  03. 

1  ,ns 
le  Oil. 

Pounds 
Whale 
Bone. 

1795 

810,524 

64,335 

410,664 

1851 

905,778 

2,004,886 

2.281.931 

1796 

1,176,650 

59,797 

308,314 

1852 

644 . 765 

B92.309 

1,184,156 

1797 

582.425 

38,221 

452.127 

1853 

1.131,098 

1798 

128,758 

700,040 

62,805 

1854 

874,535 

718,842 

2,10'        4 

1799 

114,264 

420,949 

89,552 

1855 

958,744 

705,492 

1,944. soy 

1800 

2 2 1,762 

204,468 

32,636 

1856 

540,784 

646,694 

1..,..   -  .. 

1801 

91,684 

215,522 

23,106 

1857 

819,081 

414,466 

2,042,390 

1802 

28,470 

379,97b 

80,334 

1858 

896,923 

840, 127 

1.103.301 

1803 

46.984 

550,536 

96,802 

1  s.V.I 

1,341,(12.', 

996,341 

1.380.465 

1804 

5,550 

646,505 

134,006 

1860 

1,335,736 

939,872 

1.068.895 

1805 

72,624 

626,089 

21,335 

1861 

1,518,457 

1,009,468 

979.231 

1806 

42,785 

826,233 

50,544 

1862 

739,477 

2.599,316 

796.384 

1807 

44,339 

932,797 

104,635 

1863 

1,034,794 

2,055,511 

603,186 

1808 

612 

198,019 

8,660 

1864 

45,000 

12,000 

530,000 

1809 

51,071 

421,282 

8,825 

1865 

20,158 

1,660 

202,100 

1810 

63,910 

544.734 

42,843 

1866 

10,630 

618 

521,400 

1811 

136,249 

186,661 

30,346 

1867 

25,147 

18,253 

717.796 

1812 

63,216 

106,369 

8,128 

1868 

18,619 

9,885 

707.882 

1813 

4,979 

1869 

18,645 
22,773 
22,156 

3,842 

9.872 
18,141 

311.605 
347.918 
387.199 
177,932 
120,545 

1814 

837 

1870 

1815 

1871 

1816* 

2,756 

177,810 

1872 

24^344 

1^528 

1817 

11,300 

4611,  SSS 

3,668     ! 

1873 

16,238 

2!  153 

1818 

208,467 

986,252 

9,300 

1874 

18,675 

3.300 

164,553 

1819 

75,360 

861,112 

8,038     , 

1875 

22,802 

5,424 

205.436 

1820 

9,307 

1,262,094 

25,202 

1876 

23,600 

10,300 

133,400 

1821 

7,250 

1,068,025 

16,349 

1S77 

18,047 

6,390 

70.850 

1822 

7,610 

990,325 

1S7S 

32,769 

14,371 

86,787 
75.715 

1823 

18,333 

1,453,126 

86,474 

1S79 

11,843 

7^374 

1824 

23,578 

1,251,836 

60,693 

1S.SII 

12,283 

4,395 

171.258 

1825 

30,548 

1,072,615 

212,062 

1881 

15,585 

6.457 

106,047 

1826 

35.528 

652,401 

188,709 

1882 

13,006 

4,421 

175.470 

1827 

78,661 

481,180 

241,085 

1SS3 

13,996 

4,543 

175,614 

1828 

297,276 

4SS.46N 

120, 128 

1SN4 

5,143 

2,343 

113,024 

1829 

140,241 

1,237.962 

464,22.', 

ISSo 

7,554 

5,384 

152,748 

1830 

58,814 

1,833,196 

404,9 19 

1886 

3,118 

184,511 

1831 

78, 159 

1,637,534 

565,926 

1SS7 

4.9.V, 

8,205 

154,781 

1832 

48,212 

3,605,913 

1.044,227 

Isss 

1,345 

8,578 

230,150 

1833 

50,392 

3,298.872 

1.2(13,176 

1S.N9 

5,823 

44(1 

201,323 

1K34 

60,935 

2,614,814 

873,983 

1890 

2,000 

I 

129,933 

1835 

63,827 

2,217,321 

270,977 

1891 

3,218 

608 

127,920 

1836 

115,142 

2,362,825 

731,500 

1S92 

1 .  787 

291 

83.869 

1837 

177,004 

3, 624. (MM 

1.129,509 

IMI3 

1,165 

1,064 

216,335 

1838 

166,  SIC, 

4.824,376 

1,684,670 

1894 

1,720 

276 

147.667 

1839 

86,047 

1,482,908 

1.44.-,, 098 

1895 

1 .  225 

825 

228.629 

1840 

434,608 

4,520,878 

1,892,259 

1896 

216 

500 

230,627 

1841 

349,393 

4,094,924 

1,271, 

1897 

280 

- 

1842 

2S7.76I 

3,909,728 

918,280 

1898 

1,962 

90,541 

1843 

476.688 
451,317 

2, 4 79. 91 6 

4,104,504 

S9S.773 
1,149,607 

1 S99 

191  HI 

550 
1.100 



163,447 
204,662 

1844 

600 

1845 

1,054, Hill 

4,505,662 

2,084,019 

1901 

20S.195 

1846 

777,019 

2,652,874 

1,697,892 

1902 

476 

4(*l 

180.959 

1847 

795,792 
206,431 

526, S 17 
730,743 

3,189 

1.6(17,038 
2,783,480 

1.470.197 

2,1)31.137 

1,064,379 

1,198 

1,981,281 

1908 

191 14 

1905 

64,706 

1848 

1849 

83.613 

1850 

Note. — In  some  years  it  will  b  erved  that  the  ex]  I  the  total  imports 

tor  that  year.     This  ap  repancy  in  figures  is  accounted  i"r  by  the  t'a,  t  that 

the  exports  of  many  years  are  made  up  largely  from  the  accummulated  hand 

from  previous  yeai 

1 1705-1862,  Starbuck,  p    700-701.     i86a    u, ■■-..  "Whalemen's  Shipping  List." 

5  Includes  other  fish  oils  up  to  181 

•1816-1842,  Sept.  30,  to  Oct.  1  1  July  to  is  date,  January  to 

January. 


128        ./  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 


Table   V. 

AVERAGE    ANNUAL    PRICES    OF    OIL    (PER  GALLON)    AND 

BONE   (PER    POUND),   1804-1905.1 


Year. 


1804.. 
1805. . 
1800.. 
1807.. 
1808.. 
1809.. 
1810. . 
1811. 
1812. 
1813. 
1814. 
1815. 
1816. 
1817. 
1818. 
1819. 
1820. 
1821. 
1822. 
1823. 
1824. 
1825. 
1826. 
1827. 
1828. 
1829. 
1830. 
1831. 
1832. 
1833. 
1834. 
1835. 
1836. 
1837. 
1838. 
1839. 
1840. 
1841. 
1842. 
1843. 
1844. 
1845. 
1846. 
1847. 
1848. 
1849. 
1850. 
1851. 
1852. 
1853. 
1854. 


Sperm 

Whale    ' 

Oil. 

Oil. 

31.40 

30.50 

.96 

.50 

.80 

.50 

1.00 

.50 

.80 

.44 

.60 

.44 

.75 

.40 

1.25 

.40 

1.00 

.50 

1.25 

.50 

1.25 

1.40 

1.00 

.83 

1. 12V 

.65 

.72 

.60 

.90 

.50 

.83 

.35 

.93* 

.35 

.67i 

.33 

.65 

.32 

.43 

.32 

.454 

.30 

.70* 

.32 

.75 

.30 

.72A 

.30 

.624 

.26 

.614 

.26 

.65* 

.39 

.71 

.30 

.85 

.23* 

.85 

.26 

.724 

.274 

.84 

.39 

.89 

.44 

.824 

.35 

.86 

.32 

1.05 

.36 

1.00 

.30 

.94 

.32 

.73 

.34 

.63 

.34 

•  90| 

■  Mil 

.88 

.33 

.875 

.33? 

1.00J 

.36 

1.00 

.33 

1.08J 

.39A 

l^Or'a 

•  49A 

1.274 

•  45/s    1 

1.23  J 

.68J 

1.24? 

.58  J 

1.48? 

•  59| 

Bone. 


H).08 
.  Id 
.07 
.07 
.07 
.08 
.08 
.09 
.10 
.10 


.12 

.12 

.10 

.10 

.10 

.12 

.12 

.13 

.13 

.15 

.16 

.18 

.25 

.25 

.20 

.17 

.13 

.13 

.21 

.21 

.25 

.20 

.20 

.18 

.19 

.20 

.23 

.36 

.40 

.34 

.34 

.31 

.25 

.215 

.325 

.3U 

.501 

.34i 


Y,..,-    Sperm 
YeaT  Oil. 


1855 
1856 

1857 

IS.-.S 

1S59 
1860 
1861 
1S62 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
186S 


1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1905 


Bone. 


30. 45 J 
.58 
.96  J 
.921 


.66 

.82 
1.53 
1.80 
1.71 
1.37 
1.174 
1.024 
1.24 

.85 

.70  J 
1.28J 
1.08 
1.10 
1.12?* 
2.14  * 
2.50  J 
2.46  » 
2.34 
2.00 
1.63 
1.71 
2.87 
3.55 
2.68 
2.73 
3.12 
2.78 
3.50 
4.22 
5.38 
5.35 
3.08 
2.95 
2.83 
3.95 
3.50 
3.10 
2.  70 
2.50 
2.65 
4.20 
5.25 
5.80 
4.90 


1  1S04-1843,  Starbuck;  p.  660. 

J  Gold. 

1  Currency. 


1843-1905,  "Whalemen's  Shipping  List. 


.  Ippeiidix. 


Table  VI. 
NUMBER     OF     VESSELS     IN     THE     NORTH     PACIFIC     AND 
SAN  FRANCISCO   FLEETS,    [835-1905.' 


Year. 


1838 

1839.. 
1840 

1S41 

1842 
1843. 
1844 
1845. 
1846 
L847. 

IMS 

1849 

IS."  1 1 

1851. 

1853. 
1854 
1855 
1856. 
1857. 
1858. 
1859. 

I  Mid 

1861. 
1862. 

1865 

1867 

1869. 
1870 


~           00 

North 

Pacific. 

San 

Francis 
Tonnag 

:                   San 

Franci 

Year. 
L871     

to  = 

- 

35 

27 

8 

1 

1872 

1 

1873 

30 

1S74     

23 

.' 

1ST".   

16 

3 

1876 

18 

20 

is;;         

19 

2 

L878    

17 

2 

1 

108 

1879  

170 

1880 

19 

3 

263 
292 

1881     

23 

5 

1882  

6 

177 
159 

,    1883 

38 

9 

1884 

39 

19 

155 

(885  

44 

19 

144 

1886  

38 

21 

138 



38 

19 

278 

1888 

41 

21 

238 

1889  

4s 

23 

232 

1890 

4'.. 

26 

217 

1891   

46 

30 

178 

1892  

48 

30 

143 

1893 

46 

196 



35 

176 



1895    

31 

30 

121 



2.i 

76 

1897  

22 

32 
41' 

1898... 

23 

.'I 

1S99 

21 

68 



1900  

17 

15 

59 



1901   

is 

13 

95 



1902  

17 

10 

90 



20 

11 

61 

43 

40 

6                1 .  4  1  1 
5 

21 

14 

1905 

2,015 
617 

245 
245 

245 

505 
505 

630 

1,129 
1.490 

6,103 
5,965 
6,415 

6,480 
8.005 
8.901 


■Compiled  from  "Whalemen"s  Shipping  List,"  [843-1906. 


[30        A  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery. 

Table  VII. 

IMPORTATIONS  OF  OIL  AND  BONE  AT   NEW   BEDFORD 

AND  SAN   FRANCISCO,   1869-1905.' 


Year. 


I860. 

1870. 
1871. 
1872. 
1873. 
1874. 
1875. 
1876. 
1877. 
1878. 
1879. 
1880. 
1881. 
1882. 
1883. 
1884. 
1885. 
1886. 
1887. 
1888. 


1890. 
1891. 
1892. 
1893. 
1894. 
1895. 
1890. 
1S97. 
1898. 
1899. 
1900. 
1901. 
1902. 
1903. 
1904. 
1905. 


New  Bedford. 


Barrels     i     Barrels     .     Pounds 
Sperm  Oil.   Whale  Oil.        Bone. 


32,673 

42,886 

30,654 

33,021 

30,229 

25,480 

34,430 

30,234 

27,916 

39,042 

34,890 

30, 169 

27,021 

21,276 

17,403 

16,563 

19,216 

18,615 

13,565 

10,234 

12,382 

11,109 

8,280 

7,615 

11,256 

12,878 

9,577 

11,744 

6,630 

6,745 

6,123 

11,205 

7,630 

15,035 

12,029 

12,280 

10,810 


54,566 

49,563 

55,710 

15,573 

25,757 

26,340 

25,067 

20,535 

11,636 

18,152 

18,147 

21,017 

23,954 

16,236 

12,272 

6,355 

11,062 

4,904 

2,503 

921 

1,416 

2,075 

1,248 

1,632 

1,540 

1,545 

1,229 

440 

110 

2,140 

372 

2,725 

60 

3,150 

465 

210 

825 


471,495 

569,861 

560,993 

177,868 

150,598 

321,637 

359,973 

93,484 

130,585 

179,312 

251,737 

368,112 

332,407 

242,099 

107,237 

123,675 

21,190 

27,410 

15,370 

8,812 

23,893 

10,885 

5,360 

6,800 

8,375 

12,100 

19,666 

29,000 

3,620 

19,500 

11,650 

22,500 

17,980 

3,000 

5,300 

15,000 


San    Francisco. 


Barrels 
Sperm  Oil. 


45 
320 


315 

i;js6i 


189 

365 

650 

880 

964 

610 

584 

875 

845 

1,370 

1,025 

2,095 

2,460 

2,610 

4,290 

2,780 

4,090 

4,100 

5,995 

5,610 

4,540 

1,075 


Barrels 
Whale  Oil. 


1,657 
4,013 


1,200 

675 

4,520 


12,563 

24,467 

20,265 

29,870 

15,720 

11,735 

15,217 

12,915 

11,610 

6,570 

7,175 

2,560 

4,360 

3,430 

2,975 

3,455 

2,735 

2,870 

1,575 

795 

2,470 

805 


Pounds 
Bone. 


21,336 
66,000 


10,045 
10,400 
14,462 


235,293 
441,400 
323,180 
561,694 
320,132 
225,050 
291,694 
289,850 
362,950 
402,940 
266,700 
110,980 
188,850 
139,500 
224,800 
291,400 
195,500 
76,550 
92,000 
65,150 
102,000 
38,200 


1  From  "Whalemen's  Shipping  List."     Annual  reviews  of  the  Whale  Fishery. 


Table   VIII.1 

NUMBER     OF      VESSELS      IN      NANTUCKET      FLEET      AND 

ANNUAL  PRODUCT  FROM    1762-1772. 


Year. 

Number  of 
Vessels. 

Barrels  of 
Oil. 

Year. 

Number  of 
Vessels. 

Barrels  of 
Oil. 

1762 

78 
60 
72 
101 
118 
108 

9,440 
9,238 
11,983 
11,512 
11,969 
16,561 

1768 

125 
119 
125 
115 

98 

15,439 

1763 

1769 

19,140 

1764 

1770 

14,331 

1765 

1771 

12,754 

1766... 

1  1772 

7 .  825 

1767 

1  Macy,  p.  65. 


Appendix. 


r3* 


Table   IX.1 

AVERAGE    NUMBER   OF    VESSELS    AND    ANNUAL    IMPORTS 
OF  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  WHALING  FLEETS,   -771-1775. 


Nantucket 

Wellfleet 

Dartmouth 

Lynn 

Martha's  Vineyard. 

Barnstable 

Boston 

Cape  Cod 

S.vanzcy 


Vessels  Fitted. 

Northern 

Fishery. 

Southern 

Fishery. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

65 

4 .  B75 

,, 

10,200 

20 

1,600 

10 

1,000 

60 

4,500 

20 

2.000 

1 

7.') 

1 

120 

12 

720 

2 

150 

15 

1,300 

.1 

700 

4 

300 

4 

300 

Barrels       Barrel? 

Sperm         Whale 
Oil.  Oil. 


2ti,000 

2,250 

7.200 

200 

900 

240 

1,800 

400 

400 


4,000 
1,260 

1,400 
100 
300 


000 


'Starbuck,  p.  57. 


Table   X.1 

AVERAGE    NUMBER    OF    VKSSKLS    AND    ANNUAL    IMPORTS 
OFTHE   MASSACHUSETTS  WHALING   FLEETS,    i787-I789 


Nantucket 

Willtleet  and  Cape  Cod 

Dartmouth  and  New  Bedford 

Cape  Ann 

Plymouth 

Martha*?  Vineyard 

Boston 

Dorchester  and  Wareham 


Number  of  Vessels. 

Barrels 
Sperm  Oil. 

3.S00 

Xorthern 
Fishers-. 

18 
12 

Southern 
Fishery. 

18 

4 
5 

2 

Barrels 
Whale  Oil. 

8,260 
1  920 

4.-. 

1,750 

1  200 

1 

100 
380 

2 

1 

1. 

7 

1 

inon,  p.  200. 


APPENDIX  II. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

A.  Standard  References. 

Browne,  J.  Ross. — Etchings  of  a  Whaling  Cruise,  with  Notes  of  a 
Sojourn  on  the  Island  of  Zanzibar.      1846. 

Brown,  J.  Temple. — The  Whale  Fishery  and  its  Appliances.     Bull. 
U.S.  Nat.  Mus.,  No.  27.     1884. 
Whalemen,  Vessels,  Apparatus  and  Methods  of  the  Whale  Fishery. 
Sec.  5,  Vol.  2,  pp  218-293  in  the  Fisheries  and  Fishing  Indus- 
tries of  the  United  States.      1884. 

Clark,  A.  Howard. — History  and  Present  Condition  of  the  Whale 
Fishery.  Sec.  5,  Vol.  2,  in  the  Fisheries  and  Fishing  Indus- 
tries of  the  United  States.      1884. 

Jefferson,  T. — Report  on  the  Cod  and  Whale  Fisheries.  1791. 
Printed  in    Misc.  House  Doc,  42d  Cong.,  2d  session. 

Macy,  Obed. — History  of  Nantucket.      1836. 

Ricketson,  Daniel.     History  of  New  Bedford.      1850. 

Sabine,  Lorenzo.  Report  on  the  Principal  Fisheries  of  the  Amer- 
ican Seas.      1870. 

Scammon,  C.  M.  Marine  Mammals  of  the  Northwestern  Coast  of 
North  America,  with  an  Account  of  the  American  Whale 
Fishery.      1874. 

Scoresby,  Wm.     An  Account  of  the  Arctic  Regions.      1820. 

Starbuck,  Alex.  History  of  the  American  Whale  Fishery,  from 
its  Earliest  Inception  to  the  year  1876.      1876. 

Whalemen's  Shipping  List  and  Merchants'  Transcript.  1843 
to  date. 

B.  Minor  References. 

Aldrich,  H.  L.     Arctic   Alaska  and   Siberia,   or   Eight   Months   with 

the  Arctic  Whalemen.     1889. 
Bennett,  F.  D.     Narrative  of  a  Voyage  Round  the  Globe.     2  Vols. 

(132) 


Appendix.  [33 

Cheever,  H.  T.     The   Whale   and   his   Captors;   or   the   Whaleman's 

Adventures.      1886. 
Crantz,  David.     History  of  Greenland.      1767. 
Delano,  R.    Wanderings    and    Adventures;    Being    a    Narrative    of 

Twelve  Years'  Life  in  a  Whaleship.     1846. 
Ellis,  L.  B.     History  of  New  Bedford.      1892. 
Enderby,  Charles.     A    Proposal   for   Re-establishing   the    Southern 

Whale  Fishery.      1847. 
Freeman,  Frederick.     Cape  Cod  and  Annals  of  Barnstable  County. 

1858. 
Goode,  G.  Brown.     Whales  and  Porpoises.     Sec.   1,  in  the  Fisheries 

and  Fishing  Industries  of  the  United  States.      1884. 
Hi-rd,  D.  H.      History  of  Bristol  County.      1883. 
Laing,  John.     Account  of  a  Voyage  to  Spitzbergen  in 
Le  Compte,  J.      Pratique  de  la  Peche  de  la  Baleine    dans   les    Mers 

du  Sud.      1833. 
Leslie,  Sir.  John.     Narrative   of  Discovery   and   Adventure   in   the 

Polar  Seas  and  Regions.      1831. 
LYONS,  G.  F.,  Capt.      Private  Journal.      1S24. 
McCulloch,  J.  R.      Dictionary  of  Commerce.      1S69. 
Manuscript  list  of  Nantucket  Whalers.      1815. 
Pease,  Z.  W.      New  Bedford:  History,  Industries,  etc. 
Scoresby,  Wm.     Journal  of  Voyage  t<>  the  Northern  Whale  Fishery. 

1823. 
Simmonds,  P.  L.     Animal    Products,    their    Preparation,   Commercial 

Uses  and  Value.      1877. 
Thacher,  James.     History  of  the  Town  of  Plymouth.      1832. 
Weeden,  W.  B.     Economic  and  Social  History  of  NY  a  England.  1899. 
Whaling  Directory  of  the  United  States  in   1S69. 

C.  Periodical  References. 

Whale  Fishery. 

American  Whale    Fishery.      Monthly    Review.    Vol.    133,    p 

:!ce,  Vol.  0.  i'.  321. 
Basque   Whale    Fishery.     Nature.    Vol.    25,    p.    ;,<>;    and    505. 

Living  Age,  Vol    153,  p.  52. 
Chapter  on  Whaling.     Outing,  Vol.  15,  p.  113. 
Coast  Whaling.     Overland,  Vol.  ",  p.  548. 

End  of  the   British  Whale   Fishery.     Spectator,  Y<>1    Bo,   p.  81. 
General  Notes.      Hunt,  Vol.  3,   p.    172   and   p.   361.      Pern.    Rev. 

Vol.  19,  p.  453.      P  ig.,  Vol.  2,  p.  201. 

Huntsmen  of  the  Sea.      Harper's  Mag  .  Vol.  4;    p.  650. 


134        - '  History  of  the  .  hucrican  Whale  Fishery. 

Marine  Insurance  in  Case  of   a  Whaling  Voyage.     Hunt,  Vol.  8, 

p.  169. 
Narrative   of  Sufferings   in    Whaling.      Monthly   Rev.,   Vol.    146, 

p.  69. 
Northern  Whale  Fishery.      Journal  Stat.   Soc,   Vol.    17,   p.   34. 
Off    Shore   Whaling    in   the   Bay   of    Monterey.     Cosmopolitan, 

Vol.  29,  p.  631. 
Perils  of  Whaling.     Outing,  Vol.  33,  p.  353. 
Perils  and  Romance  of  Whaling.     Century,  Vol.  18,  p.  509. 
Statistics  of  Whale  Fishery.  Hunt,  Vol.  6,  p.  187;  Vol.  9,  p.  380; 

Vol.  10,  p.  385;  Vol.  14,  p.  197  and  279;  Vol.  16,  p.  98  and  318. 
Whale  Catching  at  Point  Barrow.  Pop.  Sci.  Mo.,  Vol.  38,  p.  830. 
Whale  Fishery  in  the  Arctic  Seas.  Cornhill,  Vol.  15,  p.  748. 
Whale  Fishery  in  the  Arctic  Ocean.  McClure,  Vol.  2,  p.  391. 
Whale    Fishery    and   Shore    Fisheries    of     New    London.      Hunt, 

Vol.   16,  p.  27. 
Whaling  Industry.      Eng.  Mag.,  Vol.  8,  p.  234. 
The  Disaster  of   187 1.     New  Eng.  Mag.,  n.  s.,  Vol.    18,  p.  490. 

Whales  and  Whalers. 

Commercial    Products    of    the    Whale.     Chambers    Jour.,     Vol. 

61,  p.  566. 
The  Right  Whale  of  the  North  Atlantic.     Science,  Vol.  i,  p.  598; 

Vol.  2,  p.  266. 
The  Sperm  Whale  and  its  Food.     Nature,  Vol.  53,  p.  223. 
Whaler  and  Whaling.     Sat.  Rev.,  Vol.  80,  p.  865. 
Life  on  a  Greenland  Whaler.     McClure's,  Vol.  8,  p.  460. 
Life  on  a  South  Sea  Whaler.     Pop.   Sci.   Mo.,   Vol.   54,   p.   S18. 
Whales  and  Whalemen.     Chambers  Jour.,  Vol.  33,  p.  225. 
Right  and  Sperm  Whales.     Am.  Naturalist,  Vol.  7,  p.  1. 
Useful  Products  of  Whales.     Penny  Mag.,  Vol.  9,  p.  146  and  154. 
Whaling  Cruise.     Living  Age,  Vol.   13,  p.   172;  Vol.   14,  p.  395. 
Natural  History  and  Fishery  of  Whales.     Quart.,  Vol.  63,  p.  318. 

Occasional  References. 

Annual  Reports  and  Bulletins  of  the  United  States  Fish  Com- 
mission,   1880 — date. 

Arnold,  S.  G.  History  of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plan- 
tation.     1859.     Vol.  II.,  p.  no. 

Boston  News  Letter.      1737. 

Bullem,  F.  T.  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travel.  1745.  Vol. 
2,  p.  231  and  003. 


Appendix.  135 

Davis,  J.  C.  B.     History  of  Hingham,  Mass.     Vol.  2.  p.   17;. 

Hakluyt's  Voyages,  Vol.   1,  p.  4. 

Hutchison,  Thomas.     History  of  Massachusetts.    1705.     Vol.  3, 

p.  400. 
Massachusetts     Hist.     Soc.     Collections.     First     Series.     Vol.     3, 

pp.  157,  161;  Vol.  8,  p.  202.     Second  Series,  Vol.  3,  pp.  t8,  29; 

Vol.  6,  pp.  668,  673;  Vol.  9,  pp.  20,  36. 
Nantucket  Mirror,  1852. 
New  Bedford  Mercury,  1845-1860. 
Winsor,  Justin.     History  of  the  Town  of  Duxbury.      1840. 


INDEX. 


A. 

Allen,    Robert,   bomb  lance  invented   by,    83 
Ambergris,  nature  of,  97;    value  of,  97;   in  Morocco,  97 
Arctic    Ocean,   bowhead   whale   in,   83;    dangers   and   losses   In,   65; 
disaster    of    1871    in    the,    79;     first    whaler    in,    60;     principal 
grounds   now   in,    64;    season   in,   64;    whaling,    begun    in, 
wintering  in,  62 
Arctic  regions,  an  account  of,  1 

B. 

Bahama  Islands,  whaling  about,  27,  33 

Baleen   whale,  S3 

Barnstable,  Mass.,  first  whaling  from,  30,  6S 

Bath,   Me.,   53 

Belle    Isle,  Straits  of,  whaling  ground   in,  opened.   ::i:    restrictions 

on   whaling  in,  35 
Bering  Straits,  whaling  ground,  59,  66;   vessels  captured  In,   7s 
Bermuda,  ambergris  and  whale  oil   at,  20 
Bibliography,   132-134 

Biscay,  Bay  of,  whaling  at.  8,  9,  11;   longer  voyages  from,  11 
Biscayan,  and  Icelanders  unite,   12;    fishery,   Importance  <>r.    12;    in 

other  fleets,  15;   natives  as  whalemen,  11  ;   rivals  .of  English,  1  !; 

vessels  of,  in  St.  Geor.^i's  Bay,  l ■"•:  whaling  abandoned  by,  12 
Boat.      See   Whaleboat;    Vessels 
Boat  Whaling,  origin  of.  22 
Bomb    lance,   83 

Boston,  Mass,  36,  40,  1*;   whaling  fleet  from,  before  1 77.".  30 
Boston    News    Letter,   reference  to,  28,  29.   31 
Bounties,  effect  of,  42;    Dutch.   IS;    English.    !•'.:    Massachusetts,   41; 

Royal,  to  colonial  fishery,  34;  and  trade,  effecl  on.  KM;   to  aid 

Nantucket,   12 
Bowhead  Whale.     Sec  Baleen. 
Braintree,  Mass..    1 1 
Brazil,  coast  of,  whaling  along.  28 
Bristol,  R.   L,    II.  45,  50,  68 
Bucksport,   M«'.,   53 


138  Index. 


Cabot,  Sebastian,  voyages  of,  11 

California,  whaling  from  San  Francisco,  q.  v.;  gold  in,  discovery  of, 

effect  of,  74;    whaling  in,  shore,  60,  61 
Candles,  sperm,  manufacture  of,  110;   New  England,  111;   Philadel- 
phia, 111 
Cape  Breton,  whaling  at,  English,  12 
Cape  Cod,  ports  on,  30;    whaling  from,  after  1800,  29 
Cape  Horn,  first  whaler  rounding,  58;   voyages  round,  length  of,  60 
Chili,  coast  of,  whaling  off,  58,  60 

Civil  War,  effect  of,  on  whaling,  77;   southern  privateers  in,  78 
Cogan,  Cunningham  and,  gun,  83 

Commerce,  at  Boston,  99;    decline  of,  110;    decline,  effect  of,  111; 
decline  of  whaling,  effect  of,  on,  109;   early,  99;   England  and 
West  Indies,  with,  101;   French,  commercial  treaty  with,  104; 
from  Long  Island,  99;  golden  era,  during  the,  107;  imports  and 
exports,   relation   between,    108,   109;    Nantucket,   101;    Revolu- 
tionary War,  effect  of,  on,  103;  War  of  1812,  effect  of,  on,  105; 
whale  products  in,  98,  106 
Connecticut,    first   whaling   in,    21 
Cotton   mills,   effect  of,  on  whaling,  75 
Crews,  Americans  in,  90;   foreigners  in,  90;   Indians  in,  89;   size  of, 

89;   wages  of,  90 
Crisis,  financial,  1857,  effect  of,  67 
Cunningham  and  Cogan,  whaling  gun,  use  of,  in  Arctic,  83 


Darting  Gun,  description  of,  84 

Dartmouth,  Mass.,  first  whaling  from,  32,  36,  38,  42 

Dartmouth,   N.  S.,   founding  of,  42 

Davis  Straits,  17,  28,  30,  33,  34,  36 

Decline,  of  commerce,  110;   of  prices,  71;   of  whaling  industry,  67- 

70;   causes  of,  72-79 
Delaware,  whaling  from,  53 
Disaster  of  1871,  79 
Dutch,  bounties  by.  IS:   whaling  by,  16,  17;   decline  of  whaling,  by. 

IS;  at  Spitzbergeu,  14.  17;  in  Davis  Straits,  17:  in  seventeenth 

and  eighteenth  centuries,  17 
Duties,  imports,  English,  exempt  from,  15;    on  colonial.  15.  34;    in 

New  York,  23 


Inde  >.V) 


East    Haddam,   Conn.,   4.". 

Eastham,  Mass.,  drift  whales  at,  20 

Easthampton,   N.  Y.,  22,  29 

Electricity,  in  whaling,  85 

Embargo,  of  1755,  34,  37;    effecl    of,  on  trade,   102;    of    1807,    H 

English,  Biscayans  employed  by,  15;  duties,  15,  34;  whaling,  rev- 
enue from,  11;  tithes  from,  11;  from  Hull,  13;  to  Spitsbergen, 
13;    failure  of,  effect  of.  on   American   industry,  48 

Exports,   annual   amounts  of,   127;    trade,  see   Commerce 

F. 

Fairhaven,    Mass.,  48,  49,   ">1 
Fall   River,  Mass.,  50,   •">  1 
Falmouth,  Mass.,  30 

Fisheries,  of  American  seas,  report  on,  3;  and  fishing  industries  of 
the  United  States,  6 

Fleet,   American,  composition   of,  in   1906,   88,   112;    composition   of, 
by   years,    121;    distribution    of,    113;    from    different    ports,    by 
years,  122-125;   size  of,  by  years,  121;   stone  fleet,  vessels 
in,  78;    tonnage  of,  by  years,  121 

Food,  whales  as,  in  France,  10;   in  Iceland,  10 

France,  whaling  from,  10;  history  of  whaling,  in,  11,  12;  revolution 
in,  effect  of,  12;  Spitzbergen  fishery,  from.  II;  treaty,  com- 
mercial, with,   104;    whales,  as  food  in,  10 

Freeman,   Frederick,  20 

French,  market,  43;    revolution,  effect  of.    13 

Future,  of  whaling,   114 

G. 

Gloucester,   Mass.,    I". 

Gold,   discovery   of.   in    California,   effect    of.   7  1 

Golden    Era,  47,   50;    causes   of,   56;    :it    New   Bedford,   .",7;    trade  du  ■ 

ing,  107 
Goode,  G.  Browne,  6 
Gosnold's   journal,    12 

Greenland,  company,   the,    whaling   by,    L6;    whaling  near.   19 
Greenport,  N.  Y.,  50.  6  I 
Greenwich,   R.    L,   44 

Grounds,   whaling,   frequented,   92;    dates  of.   93 
Guinea.    COasI    of,    whaling   along.    28 
Gun,  American   whaling.  82;   darting,  82;   harpoon,  invention  of,  SI. 

shoulder,  82;   swivel,  82 


140  Index. 

H. 

Hakluyt's  voyages,  reference  to  whaling  in,  9 

Hamburg,  whaling  from,  14,  15,  17 

Harpoon,  description  of,  in  1607,  81;  electric,  85;   gun,  invention  of, 

81;    in   California  coast  whaling,  61;    metal,  80;    poisoned,  85; 

wooden,  80 
Harpoon  gun.     See  Gun 
Hingham,  Mass.,  40,  41 
Holmes  Hole,  Mass.,  40,  48,  54 
Hudson,   N.  Y.,  40,  45,   48,  50,   68 
Hussey,  Christopher,  exploit  of,  26 
Hutchison,   Thomas,   33 


Iceland,  Riscayans,  union  with,  12;  coast  of,  English  whaling  on, 
13;  in  sixteenth  century,  11;  whales  as  food  in,  10;  whal- 
ing, 10 

Imports,  amounts  of,  annual,  126;  at  New  Bedford,  130;  at  San 
Francisco,  130;   War  of  1812,  effect  of,  on,  47 

Indians,  employed  in  whaling,  22,  23,  26,  89 

Indian  Ocean,  whaling  in,  59 

J. 

Japan,  coast  of,  whaling  on,  59 

K. 

Kamtchatka,  whaling  near,  59,  66 
Kerosene,  whale  oil  supplanted  by,  77 


L. 

Lance,  bomb,  83;   hand,  81 

Launches,   steam,  in  whaling,  86 

Lay,  system  of  wages,  description  of,  91;  origin  of,  22;  in  Cali- 
fornia, 61 

Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  boat  whaling  from,  22;  whaling  from,  at  end 
of  seventeenth  century,  23;  first,  22;  in  eighteenth  century,  29; 
system  followed,  early,  22;    trade  from,  23 

Lynn,  Mass.,  30,  50,  54 


Index.  141 

M. 

Macy,  Obed,  4,  24,  26,  27,  28,  36,  37,  43,  80,  101 

Madagascar,   whaling  about,   59 

Magdalena    Bay,   Cal.,  lagoon  whaling  at,  62 

Maine,  whaling  from,  53 

Martha's  Vineyard,  24,  31,  32,  38 

Massachusetts,  fishing  colony  in,  20;   royal  charter  of,  20;    whaling 

in,  early,  20;  established,  21 
Mather,  Richard,  statement  of,  19 
Monterey,   Cal.,  shore  whaling  at,  60 
Muscovy   Company.     See    Russia   Company 
Mystic,  Conn.,  54 


N. 

Nantucket,  Mass.,  condition  of,  during  Revolution,  39;  description 
of,  26;  history  of,  2;  Indians  employed  at,  26;  whalemen,  remove 
to  Nova  Scotia,  42;  at  Dunkirk,  France,  12,  42;  War  of  1812, 
effect  of,  on,  45;  whaling  from,  2;  after  1800,  25;  beginning 
of,  at,  23;  condition  of,  at,  in  1775,  37;  1770-1775,  28;  during 
the  Revolution,  38,  39;  deep  sea,  27;  encouragement  of,  24.  25; 
fleet  of,  32,  40;  Long  Island,  outstripped  by.  29;  neutralization. 
to  aid,  41 ;   system  followed,  in,  26 

Nets,   in    whaling,  84 

Newark,   X.   J.,  53 

New  Bedford,  Mass.,  42,  44;  history  of,  3;  imports,  annual,  at. 

public  library  of,  7;    "Whalemen's  Shipping  List,"  6;    whaling 
from  3;    after  1812,  48;   before  Revolution,  32;    first.  32;    fleet, 
value    of,   54;    in    golden    era,    54;    success   of,   causes    for 
vicinity  of,  55 

Newburyport,  Mass.,  41 

New  Jersey,  whaling  from,  53 

New  London,  Conn.,  31,  40 

Newport,   R.   I..  31,  36 

New  York,  first  whaling  in.  21,    15.     See    Long   Island 

Norwegian,  whaling,  9,  11 

Norwich,   Conn..    (5 


O. 

Oil,   petroleum.   77;    whale  and   sperm,   B66   Whale   products 
Okhotsk    Sea,  whaling  in.  59,  66 


[42  Index. 

p. 

Pacific  Ocean,  whale,  first  right,  in,  51;  whalers,  first  in,  58;  whal- 
ing, begun  in,  43;  extension  of,  in,  49,  59;  fleet  in,  1820,  58; 
from  New  England  ports,  in,  GO;  grounds  in,  52;  off  shore, 
48,  58;  on  shore,  58;  in  1812,  44;  Nantucket  fleet  in,  59;  port, 
first  on,  60 

Petroleum,  discovery  of,  effect  of,  on  whaling,  76 

Plymouth   colony,  whaling  from,   21 

Plymouth,  Mass.,  41,   50 

Portland,   Me.,   53 

Ports,  whaling  fleets,  belonging  to,  122-125;  in  1906,  112;  list  of, 
122-125 

Portsmouth,  N.   H.,  50,  53 

Portuguese,  in  crews,   90 

Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  50 

Prices,  whale  products,  annual  of,  128;  declining  of,  71;  increas- 
ing of,  bone,  72;   in  1792,  43;   Revolution,  effect  of,  on,  43 

Privateers,  effect  of,  on  whaling,  American,  39;  English,  44;  French, 
33,  43;  Southern,  78;  Spanish,  33 

Products,  of  whaling,  94:  ambergris,  76;  bone,  95;  in  commerce, 
98;    oil,  94;    refining  of,  95;    spermaceti,  95;    uses  of,  q.   v. 

Prospect   Harbor,   Me.,  53 

Providence,   R.   I.,    31,   36,   45 

Provincetown,    Mass.,  30 

Prussic   acid,  in   whaling,  use   of,   85 


References,   132-134;    criticism   of,   1-7 

Refining,  95;  early,  27;   at  San  Francisco,  63 

Revolution,    war   of,   effect   of,   on    whaling,    38,    39,    40;    Nantucket 

during,  39 
Rhode   Island,  whaling  in,  early,  31 
Ricketson,   Daniel,  3,  32 
Right  Whale,  first,  51 
Rocket,  whaling,  description  of,  84 
Russia  Company,  in  Spitzbergen,  whaling,  14;   trade  to  White  Sea, 

13;    whaling  monopoly   by,   9 


Sabine,   Lorenzo,  3,  19 

Sag    Harbor,   X.   V.,  29,   40.  44,   48 

Salem,  Mass..  21.  30,  50 


Index  143 


San    Francisco,  Cal.,   whaling,   from,   60,   61,    62,   64;    fleet   of,   129; 

headquarters  at,  62;    rendezvous,  6?.;    wintering   at,   •'•_ 
Scammon,  C.   M.,  3,  42 
Schooners,  in  whaling,  86 
Scoresby,  Wm.,  1,  13,  81,  82 
Sherburne.     See  Nantucket 
"Shipping   List,  Whalemen's,"  6 
Ships,  whaling,  size  of,  87 
Shore  Whaling,  20,  21,  22.  25,  27;    on  California  coast.  60;    system 

used,  61;    abandoned,  61 
Sloops,   in   whaling,   first  use,   87 
Smith,  Captain   John,  record  of  whales.   19 
Southampton,  X.  Y.,  22,  23,  29 
South  Sea  Company,  whaling  by,  15,  16 
Southwold,   X.   Y.,  22 

Spanish,    privateers,    33;    whaling,   at    Spitzbergen.    U 
Spermaceti,  9". 
Sperm  candles,  110 
Sperm  oil,  commerce  in,  99,   109;   exports  of,  127;    imports  of,  126; 

introduced,  first,  27;  nature  of,  94;  prices  of,  128:  uses  of.  :» ! 
Sperm  whale,  first,  26.     See   Sperm   oil 
Spitzbergen,   whaling   at,   division    of,    14;    English,    13:    rivalry    for, 

13,   14 
St.   Lawrence,  Gulf  of.  ground   opened,  34;    restrictions   on.   35 
Starbuck.  Alexander,  3,   19,  22,  31.  32.  33,  34,  36,  37:   criticsm  of.  4-6 
Statistics.  117;   discussion  of.  117-120 
Steam,  vessels,  used  in  whaling,  by  Americans,  87;    by   English,  86; 

launches,    86 
Stonington,   Conn.,   50,    -~>  1 
Swansea,  or  Swanzey,  Mass..  31 


Thatcher,   James,    1!».   20 
Tiverton,  R.    I..  .",1 

Tonnage,  vessel,  of   whaling  Beet,   by   years,  121;    San   Francisco 
fleet,  129 


Tremont,    Me.,   53 


V. 


Vessels,  barks,  87;  brigs,  s7;  changes  in.  86;  crews  of.  89;  Fate 
of.  old.  89;  history  of.  86;  launches,  si. •am.  u^-a,  86;  schoon- 
ers, 86;  ships,  87;  sloops.  86;  Bteamers,  Introduced,  62;  used, 
87;   used  now.  88;    whaleboats,   description   of,   86 


144  Index. 

Virginia,  whaling  from,  31 
Voyages,  cost  of,  74;   length  of,  73 

W. 

Wages,  of  whalemen,  91 

War,  civil,  effect  of,  on  whaling,  77;  of  1812,  effect  of,  on  whaling, 
47;  on  trade,  105;  of  Revolution,  effect  of,  on  whaling,  38,  39,  40 

Wareham,  Mass.,  45 

Warren,  R.  I.,  31,  36,  50 

Wellfleet,   Mass.,  30,  40,  41,  42 

Western   Islands,  whaling  about,   28 

West   Indies,  trade  with,  101 

Westport,   Mass.,   44,   48,   49 

Whaleboats,  description  of,  86 

Whalebone,  commerce,  in,  110;  exports  of,  127;  imports  of,  126; 
first  into  England,  13;  importance  of,  72;  occurrence  of,  95; 
preparation  of,  96;   prices  of,  72,  128 

Whale  fishery,  an  account  of,  3;  colonial,  4;  history  of,  3;  in  the 
Pacific,  3 

"Whalemen's    Shipping    List,"   6 

Whale  oil,  commerce,  in,  99,  109;  exports  of,  127;  imports  of,  126; 
nature  of,  94;   prices  of,  128;   uses  of,  94 

Whale  products,  colonial,  exports  of,  23;  duties  on,  in  New  York, 
23.     See  Whalebone;   Whale  oil;   Sperm  oil,  etc. 

Whales,  abundance,  at  Nantucket,  26;  New  England  coast,  on,  19; 
baleen  or  bowhead,  83;  drift,  in  Long  Island,  22;  Massachu- 
setts colonies,  20;  food,  as,  in  France,  9;  in  Iceland,  10;  right, 
first,  51;  sperm,  first,  26 

Whaling,  American,  and  European  compared,  18;  at  end  of  seven- 
teenth century,  25;  condition  of,  in  1760-65,  35;  Arctic,  first  in, 
52,  60;  Biscay,  Bay  of,  from,  8,  9;  boat,  origin  of,  22,  25; 
boom,  of  1846-47,  52;  California,  shore,  60,  61;  climax  of,  51; 
colonial,  Connecticut,  21;  Long  Island,  22;  Massachusetts,  20, 
21;  state  of,  in  1774,  37:  condition  of,  present,  112;  crews,  89; 
decline  of,  54,  67,  70;  deep  sea,  beginning  of,  91;  English,  1, 
8,  10;  European,  1,  11;  fleet,  in  1774,  37;  in  1783,  40;  1787-1789, 
42;  1835-1860.  51;  present,  112;  value  of,  in  1S46,  51;  French, 
10;  golden  age  of,  47,  50;  growth  of,  rapid,  1820  to  1S35, 
49,  50;  1834-1840,  51;  grounds,  frequented,  28,  92,  93;  gun,  82: 
Indians,  employed  in,  22,  23,  89;  industry,  character  of,  36; 
lagoon,  at  Magdalena  Bay,  62;  losses  in,  73;  Nantucket,  q.  v.; 
New  Bedford,  q.  v.:  Norwegian,  9;  ports,  1785-1815,  40,  44.  45; 
1815-1820,   47,   48;    after   1830,   50;    1846-50,   67;    profits   in.    73; 


Index.  14- 

products  of,  51,  94;  prospects,  future,  114;  Revolution,  War  of, 
during,  38,  39;  at  end  of,  40;  renewal  after,  40;  rocket,  84: 
shore,  from,  25;  California,  60,  61;  Connecticut,  21;  Long 
Island,  22;  Massachusetts,  20,  21;  end  of,  27;  statistics  of,  117; 
War  of  1812,  previous  to,  44;  during,  45;  revival  after.  17. 
vessels,  q.  v.;   voyages,  28 

Williamsburg,    Va.,    whaling   from,    31 

Wilmington,  Del.,  53 

Wiscasset,  Me.,  53 


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